ABSTRACT
In 1925, Catholics in Boerne, Texas, built Saint Peter the Apostle Church in the architectural style of the old Spanish missions. The parish outgrew the modest structure and in 1991 decided to replace it with a building that would hold three times as many parishioners. In City of Boerne v. Flores, 521 US 507, the Supreme Court, by a six-three vote, overturned a US circuit court decision and decided in favor of the city. Lawyers for the city of Boerne responded that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act was itself unconstitutional because Congress had passed the law specifically to overrule the Supreme Court's decision in Employment Division, Department of Human Resources of Oregon v. Smith, 494 US 872. Members of Congress and a variety of religious lobbyists reacted with anger to the Court's ruling. A new piece of legislation, the Religious Liberty Protection Act, passed the House of Representatives in 1999 by a 306 to 118 vote.
