ABSTRACT
Congress enacted the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA) in recognition of "the importance the free exercise of religion plays in our democratic society." RLUIPA addresses two specific areas: laws that govern land use and laws that impact the religious exercise of persons in prisons, mental hospitals, or similar institutions. In its deliberations, Congress found that land use is an inextricable part of religious exercise. Religious groups must have a place to gather and worship. In the hearings and other proceedings leading up to enactment of RLUIPA, Congress heard testimony from a wide variety of groups whose religious exercise was threatened or burdened by these two types of laws. In general, RLUIPA prohibits any governmental agency from enacting regulations in a manner that treats religious exercise on less than equal terms with nonreligious exercise. RLUIPA, however, establishes minimum guidelines for constitutionally permissible treatment of religious land uses.
