Also known as: religious organizations · religious entity · religious body
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
A nonprofit entity affiliated with or controlled by a religious group. The entity receives a statutory exemption from the Fair Housing Act when it limits the sale, rental, or occupancy of dwellings it owns or operates for noncommercial purposes to persons of the same religion.
A nonprofit entity affiliated with or controlled by a religious group. The entity receives a statutory exemption from the Fair Housing Act when it limits the sale, rental, or occupancy of dwellings it owns or operates for noncommercial purposes to persons of the same religion.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A nonprofit entity affiliated with or controlled by a religious group. Its regularly kept records of vital personal facts qualify for the hearsay exception for statements of personal or family history.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A nonprofit entity affiliated with or controlled by a religious group. Its regularly kept records of vital personal facts qualify for the hearsay exception for statements of personal or family history.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
Rowan Russell, a member of a religious organization that owns an apartment building operated for noncommercial purposes, applies to rent a unit. The organization limits occupancy to adherents of its faith. The limit is lawful because the organization satisfies the statutory criteria for the exemption.
Regina Robinson belongs to a religious organization whose members withdraw their children from public high school after eighth grade to continue vocational training at home. The state prosecutes the parents for truancy. The organization's long-standing practices and the adequacy of its alternative education satisfy the constitutional standard that protects the group's way of life.
Ravi Reddy attends a public school and belongs to a religious organization whose doctrine forbids saluting the flag. School officials expel him for refusing to participate in the daily pledge. The expulsion violates the First Amendment because the state may not compel affirmation of beliefs contrary to the organization's religious convictions.
Raphael Rivera leads a religious organization that operates a preschool and seeks a state grant to resurface its playground. The state denies the grant solely because the applicant is a religious entity. The denial violates the Free Exercise Clause because the program is neutral and the organization is otherwise eligible.
Rhea Reynolds is a member of a religious organization that uses peyote in sacramental ceremonies. State officials deny her unemployment benefits after she is discharged for ingesting peyote during a ritual. The denial is constitutional because the criminal prohibition is neutral and generally applicable.
No. The statute expressly conditions the exemption on the requirement that membership in the religion itself not be restricted on account of race, color, or national origin.
Supporting sources
The organization must demonstrate the sincerity of its beliefs, the interrelationship between those beliefs and its way of life, and the adequacy of its alternative educational program in serving the state's interests.
Supporting sources
Rosalind Reed offers a certificate of marriage signed by an authorized official of her religious organization to prove the date of her wedding in a probate dispute. The court admits the certificate under the hearsay exception for statements of personal or family history contained in regularly kept religious records.
A court may admit the certificate when it contains a statement of marriage and is part of a regularly kept record of a religious organization.
Supporting sources
…American Church’s use of peyote is isolated to specific ceremonial occasions,’” and so “‘an accommodation can be made for a religious organization which uses peyote in circumscribed ceremonies’” (quoting DEA Final Order)); id. , at 7, 878 F. 2d, at 1464 (“[F]or members of the Native American Church, use of peyote outside the ritual…