Supreme Court to Decide if Prayer Grotto Burdens Religious Exercise Under RLUIPA

The U. S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a Kentucky case involving the Missionaries of St. John the Baptist’s proposed 16‑by‑39‑foot prayer grotto in Park Hills. The grotto, a 600‑square‑foot shrine to the Virgin Mary, was approved by the local Board of Adjustment in 2021 but was later challenged by neighboring property owners and overturned by the Kentucky Court of Appeals. The church argues that denying the grotto constitutes a “substantial burden” on religious exercise under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). The Court will consider whether a local zoning restriction that blocks a religious structure on the church’s own property violates RLUIPA. The decision could set a nationwide standard for how federal law protects religious institutions from local land‑use regulations, affecting churches, synagogues, and other faith groups across the country.