Save the Church, Kill the Congregation?

Dec 7, 2007

Yesterday, the DC Historic Preservation Review Board HPRB voted 7-0 to impose landmark status on an unwilling Third Church of Christ, Scientist, located in downtown Washington DC.  The 36-year old crumbling structure was designed in the "brutalist" school of architecture which is notorious for its stark and unwelcoming designs.  The congregation seeks to demolish the building as it impedes the current congregation's religious needs and mission.  But the HPRB's vote is designed to freeze the structure in perpetuity and ironically, save the church on the outside (the building) by sacrificing the church on the inside (the worshippers).

The Becket Fund submitted a legal opinion letter to the HPRB informing it that it risks violating federal and constitutional law if it uses landmarking laws to impose a substantial burden on the congregation's religious expression.  The letter focuses on the applicability of two federal laws, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which applies to instrumentalities of the District, and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) which applies to landmarking decisions specifically.  See www.rluipa.com. 

The Washington Post has covered this story with two columns linked below,

State vs. Church: March of the Preservation Police

Church Gets Landmark Status Over Congregation's Objections