For Immediate Release: September 5, 2024

TRI Takes Government to Trial Over Discrimination of a Christian Study Center, Favoritism of Other Religious Practices

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. — The Rutherford Institute has come to the defense of a Christian ministry’s right to receive the same benefits as other religious and charitable organizations which provide similar services.

Through the Bradley Study Center, the nonprofit Christian Scholars Network (CSN) ministers to the Virginia Tech community by holding worship services, prayer meetings, Bible studies, and weekly theological discussions. The Rutherford Institute challenged a local government’s refusal to recognize CSN as a religious association that uses its property exclusively for charitable, religious, or educational purposes, which would thereby qualify CSN for a property tax exemption under the Virginia Constitution and state laws.

Attorneys affiliated with The Rutherford Institute filed a lawsuit in the Montgomery County Circuit Court against the County and the Town of Blacksburg after the Board and the Commissioner of the Revenue refused to grant a property tax exemption for the Bradley Study Center, even though the County provides a property tax exemption to a similar organization for college students of another religion. At trial, Institute attorneys argued that the Government is failing to comply with the will of the people as set forth in the Virginia Constitution and laws, and that the Government’s narrow interpretation of certain statutory terms violates church autonomy and favors more formal religious practices and hierarchical denominations in violation of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.

“The First Amendment not only affirms the right to religious freedom for people of all faiths, but it also requires that the government treat all faiths equally and not favor or disfavor one over the other,” said constitutional attorney John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute and author of Battlefield America: The War on the American People. “This is the slippery slope that affects us all, whether you’re talking about religious freedom, free speech, or privacy: if the government is allowed to deny freedom to one segment of the citizenry, it will eventually extend that tyranny to all citizens.”

Christian Scholars Network, Inc. is a nonprofit ministry which has been exempt from federal income tax by the IRS under section 501(c)(3). In 2019, CSN purchased real estate near the Virginia Tech campus and opened the Bradley Study Center to cultivate a thoughtful exploration of the Christian faith and how one’s faith connects to their studies, work, and life. CSN uses the Bradley Study Center property for worship services, prayer meetings, studies and discussions of the Bible and theological books, and a Fellows Program for Virginia Tech students to meet weekly for theological discussions and fellowship. Government officials, however, did not deem CSN to be a “religious association” or all these activities to be “worship,” even though a religious studies scholar opined that CSN’s activities at the Bradley Study Center constitute worship. At a two-day trial in April 2024, several witnesses testified about the many benefits which CSN freely provides to the community through the Bradley Study Center. Following trial, briefs on closing arguments were submitted to the court and a decision is expected later this year.

Affiliate attorneys Melvin E. Williams and Meghan A. Strickler of Williams & Strickler, PLC are representing CSN in the case. The Rutherford Institute advanced the arguments in the closing briefs.

The Rutherford Institute, a nonprofit civil liberties organization, provides legal assistance at no charge to individuals whose constitutional rights have been threatened or violated, and educates the public on a wide spectrum of issues affecting their freedoms.

This press release is also available at www.rutherford.org.

Source: https://tinyurl.com/mr44pzus

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