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The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey filed a statement of interest today explaining that an Orthodox Jewish congregation’s claims under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) are ready to be decided in federal court. “RLUIPA is designed to ensure that religious groups of all faiths do not face unjust barriers when seeking to establish places to worship,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Local land use boards cannot unfairly or discriminatorily deny a religious group’s application to use land for religious purposes. When local officials use the guise of zoning restrictions to block or restrict religious groups, this not only contravenes our nation’s commitment to religious freedom, it also violates federal law.” “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to ensuring that all religious communities in our District have the ability to worship freely and without discrimination,” said U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger for the District of New Jersey. “We will continue our work to enforce RLUIPA, and to ensure that local boards apply the law fairly and correctly so that communities of faith may exercise their fundamental rights […]