Group Files Suit Against Town of Acton to Stop Support of Local Churches

Photo Credit: Acton Congregational Church Facebook Page

Acton, MA — A Washington, D.C., group has filed a suit on behalf of 13 Acton taxpayers seeking an injunction to stop the town from providing grants to two local churches.

The Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed suit in Middlesex Superior Court Thursday alleging that the town violated the Anti-Aid Amendment to the Massachusetts Constitution, which prohibits the use of public funds to support active houses of worship. At a Town Meeting on April 4, the town approved Article 25, allotting $49,500 for Acton Congregational's preservation master plan, $51,237 for a stained-glass window project and $15,000 for roof repair at South Acton Congregational.

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“The Anti-Aid Amendment to the Massachusetts Constitution protects the religious liberty of all citizens of the Commonwealth by prohibiting the use of public funds to support active houses of worship. Defendant Town of Acton is threatening that religious liberty,” according to the lawsuit.

Patch attempted to contact Acton's Board of Selectmen, but the board was not immediately available for comment. However, Acton Board of Selectman Chairman Peter Berry told The Boston Globe that requests were recommended by Acton's Community Preservation Committee, analyzed by the town's counsel, and funds were granted based on the historic nature of the building.

“In our view, the use of the building is not something we consider,’’ Berry told the Boston Globe. “It’s for the secular purpose of historic preservation — preserving historic structures that are interwoven in the cultural fabric of the town.’’

According to the Acton Congregational Church website, it dates back to 1832, when the Acton Evangelical Society split from the First Parish of Acton.

The Americans United for Separation of Church and State was founded in 1947 and has filed the suit on behalf Acton residents George Caplan, Jim Conboy, Del Friedman, Daniel Gilfix, Maria Greene, Jesse Levine, Dave Lunger, Allen Nitschelm, Scott Smyers, William Alstrom and David Caplan (no relation to George Caplan).

This is not the first time CPA money has been approved for houses of worship. Town Meeting-approved funds for West Acton Baptist Church's restoration of the belfry's interior structure and the creation of a master plan totaled around $41,063. An additional $89,000 was granted in 2014 for ceiling work and fire safety systems.

“Government should not use tax funds to support churches,” the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United, said in a statement. “The fact that a house of worship is old doesn’t mean taxpayers should be forced to subsidize a religious group to which they don’t belong. If a church needs money to preserve or restore its buildings, it should raise that money from its own members.”