Morris Co. Can't Use Taxpayer Money To Fix Churches: SCONJ

MORRIS, NJ — The State Supreme Court of New Jersey has ruled that Morris County's practice of giving historic preservation grants to local churches is against the state constitution.

The historic preservation grants, which are taxpayer-funded, violates the Religious Aid Clause of the state constitution, Chief Justice Stuart Rabner wrote in Wednesday's ruling.

"Here, the County awarded $4.6 million to twelve churches to repair active houses of worship -- from roofs to bell towers, from stained glass windows to ventilation systems. The use of public funds to pay for those repairs violated the plain language of the Religious Aid Clause," Rabner wrote.

The Religious Aid Clause of the state constitution reads: "[no] person be obliged to pay tithes, taxes or other rates for building or repairing any church or churches, place or places of worship, or for the maintenance of any minister or ministry, contrary to what he believes to be right or has deliberately and voluntarily engaged to perform."

The Board of Chosen Freeholders, which oversees the grant program, had argued that the grants were meant to preserve historical and architectural aspects of the church, not the practice of religion. Rabner said that didn't matter.

"The [Religious Aid] clause does not ask about the governing body’s intent -- that is, whether the authorities meant to fund repairs to churches, to preserve history and promote tourism, or both," Rabner said.

The Board of Chosen Freeholders was sued by the Wisconsin based non-profit Freedom From Religion Foundation and David Steketee, a member of the group and a Morris County resident. The Somerset County court first ruled in favor of the Freeholders in 2017 before the state Supreme Court took up the case.

Between 2012 and 2015, over $11 million was awarded to churches to restore buildings, towers, windows, and other items. All twelve are Christian churches.

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