Attorney General Alan Wilson announced on May 6 that he has joined a coalition of 20 states asking the U.S. Supreme Court to allow a Northern Kentucky church to build an outdoor shrine on its property.
The request comes as part of a brief led by Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman, which asks the court to consider protections for religious practice under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). The case involves the Missionaries of Saint John the Baptist, a Roman Catholic order operating Our Lady of Lourdes parish in Park Hills, Kentucky. After receiving city approval in 2021 to construct a small shrine for meditation and worship, neighbors filed suit and ultimately succeeded in blocking construction through the Kentucky Supreme Court.
Wilson said, “The freedom to worship is not confined to speech. Churches and places of worship should not be burdened by laws intended to limit their ability to build religious structures. I’ll continue to fight for the right of every South Carolinian to worship freely as our Founders intended.”
Congress passed RLUIPA unanimously in 2000 with President Bill Clinton signing it into law. The statute aims to prevent governments from placing substantial burdens on religious organizations via zoning laws. According to Wilson’s office, many courts have misinterpreted this law—including now the Kentucky Supreme Court—leading them, he said, “to infringe on Americans’ religious liberty.” Wilson and his counterparts are seeking clarification from the nation’s highest court about rights protected under RLUIPA.
Wilson was joined by attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and West Virginia.
The South Carolina Attorney General operates as the state’s primary legal advocate and enforcer—handling prosecutions and regulations—and supports victims through advocacy while collaborating with law enforcement agencies statewide according to the official website.
Alan Wilson has served as head of this office which extends its operations across all regions of South Carolina according to the official website.
