Berkley Center

In 2000 Congress passed the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), which requires the government to justify any significant burden on the free exercise of religion with a compelling interest, and to show that the procedure that creates the burden is the least restrictive means possible in furthering that interest. RLUIPA only applies to cases involving land use decisions and institutionalized persons. In Cutter v. Wilkinson, the Supreme Court rejected an Establishment Clause challenge to the RLUIPA on the grounds that the act merely set out to give free exercise heightened protection from government-imposed burdens. The Court reaffirmed that the government may accommodate religious practices without violating the Establishment Clause.