I’ll start with a link to the original Fox story that got my attention. That led me to a Google News search, and a pair of WorldNetDaily articles and with a little more information.
Pastor David Jones and his wife life on a cul-de-sac. Last month, they were met by a county official who asked them a series of questions about their Tuesday night bible study, such as “Do you say ‘Amen?’ or ‘Do you sing?’” They were then told that their weekly bible study with about 15 people violated land use guidelines, and they had to “stop religious assembly or apply for a major use permit.”
MUPs seem to be designed for churches and other large concerns, as they require traffic and environmental studies, etc. to make sure the land is used properly. They’re expensive, too, and the Jones’ face escalating fines for each violation if they don’t stop their “religious assembly.”
So where’s the line between home bible study and church? My church has about 23 people there on a given Sunday morning; 9 are named Mueller. 5 are named Johnson. It’s just about 4-5 families and couples. Are we a congregation at the church building? What if we meet at a home for bible study?
I think obviously the county stepped in it by singling out “religious assembly” in the complaint. Had they said the couple was violating some ordinance about parking, or occupancy, they might be on better ground, but this seems to be a clear First Amendment violation. I’d be really interested to see the county’s guidelines about major use permits, and who needs them and when. I’d also be curious about their regs concerning churches, and how those regs mesh with the . I’d also be interested to know if the county is going to start cracking down on other weekly events held at homes, like cookouts, or football parties.
