ChristiansUnite Forums

NJ village's denial of religious groups resolved

"Care and Share" Christian ministry in New Jersey has reached an agreement with the Village of South Orange that will allow the group to use a public square that village officials had previously said was open only to public and private non-religious groups.



The ministry group had been denied use of the square for an outreach event featuring skits, live music, and puppet shows for children. So they filed suit in U.S. District Court in New Jersey in February, noting that the village had granted use of the square to "Road Devils, NJ" -- an organization whose event included "alcohol consumption," scantily-clad female mannequins, and "live bands using vulgar language with electronic sound equipment," according to plaintiff counsel Demetrios K. Stratis of Alliance Defense Fund (ADF).

The basis of the suit was the Supreme Court's precedent-setting rulings on the non-constitutionality of viewpoint discrimination in freedom of speech and religion.

ADF says South Orange has now agreed to let Care and Share into the village square, and will no longer have a policy that denies use of it by a religious organization strictly because of its viewpoint.