Hostility Toward Religion in America Is ‘Undeniable,’ Report Says
Disclaimer: The source is lousy, but worth it for the laughs.
http://dailysignal.com/2016/02/25/hostility-toward-religion-in-america-is-undeniable-report-says/
“This flood is engulfing ordinary citizens who simply try to live normal lives according to their faith and conscience.”
Examples of this "hostility"?
* Bedford County, Va., prohibited a private landowner from allowing religious services for the Cowboy Church of Virginia to be conducted in his barn. The landowner received a violation notice because zoning regulations didn’t allow the space to be used for religious meetings.
For those who view these as "hostility" toward their religion, I wonder how many of them would change their tune if the religion involved were Islam? Would they be OK with a teacher who quoted the Koran, and offered a copy to a student who asked about the quote?
= new reply since forum marked as read
1. It is possible that religious services are not allowed as an outrightly permitted use but may be allowed as a special exception upon review by the relevant board. This review is to ensure that adequate measures are taken to address concerns such as those you noted. We may only have part of the story. The applicant may have been denied an outright use, failed to submit the necessary documentation for the special exception, and is now claiming discrimination even though they failed to follow through.
2. Most rules are put in place for a reason. Someone, somewhere likely created such a nuisance for adjacent property owners that a seemingly draconian rule such as this was put in place. Keep in mind as well; zoning ordinance text is often "borrowed" in whole or in part from other localities or from model ordinances without regard to its effect in the area to which it is being applied.
3. If an ordinance doesn't specifically address outright use/special exception for churches many people will argue that they are exempt from any regulation.
4. Church services are sometimes used as "pawns" in a larger game. For example, in an area where the sale of alcohol is restricted within a certain distance from a church, services may suddenly appear near a site where an application for alcohol sales has been submitted.
5. This could be a case where the zoning ordinance needs to be revised to permit "new" uses (I'd never heard of "Cowboy Churches" until recently).
Hope this provides some food for thought.
