该案或将重新定义联邦土地使用法下何为对宗教活动的“实质性负担”
2026年10月1日 美国东部时间晚8:13 / 福克斯新闻
作者：贾斯敏·贝尔
最高法院受理肯塔基州教会在自有土地上修建祈祷洞穴的诉讼
第一自由律所高级顾问瑞安·加德纳向福克斯新闻数字频道解释，这场肯塔基州的纠纷将如何塑造全国范围内的宗教土地使用保护规则。
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【福克斯新闻独家首发】 最高法院周四同意受理肯塔基州一所教会提起的诉讼，该教会希望在自有土地上修建一座祈祷洞穴，此案将围绕联邦土地使用法下何为对宗教活动的“实质性负担”展开争议。
代表圣约翰传教士修会的第一自由研究所高级顾问瑞安·加德纳告诉福克斯新闻数字频道，该案的影响远超肯塔基州帕克希尔斯市这座拟建的天主教圣地。
“这是宗教自由领域的重大案件，因为它有可能影响美国的每一项分区法规，”加德纳告诉福克斯新闻数字频道。
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圣约翰教会附近的土地，位于肯塔基州帕克希尔斯，圣约翰传教士修会曾申请在此修建祈祷洞穴。（第一自由研究所 供图）
该案的核心是一座拟建的16乘39英尺的洞穴，法院文件显示，其内将设有圣母玛利亚神龛、广场、步行道和护墙。加德纳将其约600平方英尺的占地面积比作一个游泳池的大小。
该教会于2021年3月申请 conditional-use permit（有条件使用许可）和variance（容积率豁免），计划在教堂后方修建这座洞穴，以纪念圣母玛利亚在法国卢尔德向圣贝尔纳黛德显灵。教堂建筑本身已在该地块矗立近百年，早于1974年帕克希尔斯市通过的分区条例。
该案的物业历史比案件的简要描述更为复杂。拟建洞穴所在的相邻地块最初设有永久租赁权，项目获批后该租赁权将转让给该宗教组织。但加德纳表示，与许多宗教土地使用纠纷不同，该教会在本案中的最初对手并非当地政府。
帕克希尔斯市调整委员会于2021年4月批准了该教会的许可申请。但两名相邻业主乔尔·弗雷德里克和伊丽莎白·弗雷德里克提出反对，并在肯塔基州法院挑战委员会的决定。
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肯塔基州帕克希尔斯的圣约翰教会是此次最高法院诉讼的核心，该教会计划在自有土地上修建祈祷洞穴。（第一自由研究所 供图）
初审法院判决教会胜诉，但肯塔基州上诉法院推翻了原判，认定委员会在批准该项目时越权，并认定未违反联邦宗教土地使用法。肯塔基州最高法院于2025年12月维持了依据《宗教土地使用和机构化人员法》作出的裁决，促使该教会寻求最高法院复审。
该案的核心是《宗教土地使用和机构化人员法》（简称RLUIPA），这是一项联邦法律，旨在保护宗教机构免受其财产使用受到的某些限制。
“RLUIPA衔接了美国两项至关重要的权利：宗教自由权和财产权，”加德纳告诉福克斯新闻数字频道。
该教会请求大法官们审查依据RLUIPA提出的两个问题，但最高法院仅同意审理其中一个：禁止宗教机构在自有土地上修建宗教建筑，是否构成该法律下对宗教活动的“实质性负担”。
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美国最高法院（左）与肯塔基州帕克希尔斯的圣约翰教会。最高法院同意受理一起涉及教堂土地上修建祈祷洞穴计划的纠纷。（盖蒂图片社/第一自由研究所 供图）
加德纳表示，自国会2000年颁布该法律以来，下级法院对该法律形成了不同的解读标准，导致宗教组织在不同地区获得的保护程度各不相同。他认为，最高法院现在有机会在全国范围内确立统一明确的标准。
圣约翰传教士修会在向最高法院提交的请愿书中同样指出，联邦和州法院在如何认定土地使用限制是否构成RLUIPA下的“实质性负担”问题上存在分歧。弗雷德里克夫妇在反对意见摘要中驳斥了这一说法，称上诉法院通常会考量类似因素，不同判决结果反映的是案件事实存在差异。弗雷德里克夫妇还辩称，圣约翰传教士修会未能证明不存在其他可用于修建洞穴的地点。
弗雷德里克夫妇的律师未立即回应福克斯新闻数字频道的置评请求。
该案还将两个具有宪法重要性的法律领域并列在一起——宗教活动自由与地方政府规范财产使用的权力。
尽管加德纳承认分区规划在地方政府治理中发挥着合法作用，但他辩称，这些监管规定仍需遵守联邦层面的宗教活动保护条款。他表示，这一问题的影响远不止肯塔基州的一座祈祷洞穴。
加德纳表示，最高法院的裁决可能会影响涉及教会、犹太会堂、事工机构及其他寻求将财产用于礼拜或宗教活动的宗教组织的纠纷。他警告称，对联邦法律的过度狭义解读可能会给全国范围内的宗教土地使用带来“灾难性后果”。
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然而，对于圣约翰传教士修会而言，这场可能重塑全国宗教土地使用法律的案件，最初只是源于一个约600平方英尺的祈祷场所。
贾斯敏·贝尔是福克斯新闻数字频道突发新闻撰稿人，报道领域涵盖政治、军事、围绕生命与家庭政策的法律辩论，以及信仰和文化议题。
EXCLUSIVE: Supreme Court prayer grotto case could impact ‘every single zoning law’ in America, attorney says
The case could redefine what constitutes a ‘substantial burden’ on religious exercise under federal land use law
October 1, 2026 8:13pm EDT / Fox News
By Jasmine Baehr
Supreme Court takes up Kentucky church’s fight to build prayer grotto on its own property
First Liberty Senior Counsel Ryan Gardner explains to Fox News Digital why the Kentucky dispute could shape religious land-use protections nationwide.
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FIRST ON FOX —The Supreme Court agreed Thursday to hear a Kentucky church’s fight to build a prayer grotto on its property, taking up a dispute over what constitutes a “substantial burden” on religious exercise under federal land-use law.
Ryan Gardner, senior counsel at First Liberty Institute, which represents the Missionaries of St. John the Baptist, told Fox News Digital the implications stretch far beyond the proposed Catholic shrine in Park Hills, Kentucky.
“This is a massive case for religious liberty because it has the potential to impact every single zoning law in this country,” Gardner told Fox News Digital.
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The property near St. John Church in Park Hills, Ky., where the Missionaries of St. John the Baptist have sought to build a prayer grotto.(First Liberty Institute)
At the center of the case is a proposed 16-by-39-foot grotto that court records say would include a shrine to the Virgin Mary, a plaza, walking path and retaining wall. Gardner compared its roughly 600-square-foot footprint to the size of a swimming pool.
The church applied in March 2021 for a conditional-use permit and variance to build the grotto behind its building in honor of the Virgin Mary’s apparition to Saint Bernadette in Lourdes, France. The church building itself has stood on the property for nearly a century, predating Park Hills’ zoning ordinance adopted in 1974.
The property history is a bit more complicated than the case’s shorthand description may suggest. The proposed grotto involved an adjacent parcel that was initially subject to a perpetual lease that would be transferred to the religious organization as a condition of the project’s approval. But unlike many religious land-use disputes, Gardner said, the church’s initial fight in this case was not with the local government.
The Park Hills Board of Adjustment approved the church’s permit in April 2021. Two neighboring property owners, however, Joel and Elizabeth Frederic, objected and challenged the board’s decision in Kentucky state court.
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St. John Church in Park Hills, Ky., is at the center of a Supreme Court case over plans to build a prayer grotto on its property.(First Liberty Institute)
A trial court ruled in the church’s favor, but the Kentucky Court of Appeals reversed, concluding the board exceeded its authority in approving the project and finding no violation of federal religious land-use law. The Kentucky Supreme Court affirmed the RLUIPA ruling in December 2025, prompting the church to seek Supreme Court review.
The case centers on the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, known as RLUIPA, a federal law enacted to protect religious institutions from certain burdens on the use of their property.
“RLUIPA is at the intersection of two very critical rights in this country: the rights of religious liberty and property rights,” Gardner told Fox News Digital.
The church asked the justices to review two questions under RLUIPA, but the Supreme Court agreed to hear only one about whether prohibiting a religious institution from building a religious structure on its own property constitutes a “substantial burden” on religious exercise under the law.
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The U.S. Supreme Court, left, and St. John Church in Park Hills, Ky. The Supreme Court agreed to hear a dispute involving plans for a prayer grotto on church property.(Getty Images/First Liberty Institute)
Gardner said lower courts have developed different approaches to the law since Congress enacted it in 2000, leaving religious organizations with different levels of protection depending on where a dispute arises. He argues the Supreme Court now has an opportunity to establish a clearer standard nationwide.
The missionaries similarly argued in their Supreme Court petition that federal and state courts are divided over how to determine whether a land-use restriction creates a “substantial burden” under RLUIPA. The Frederics disputed that characterization in their opposition brief, arguing appellate courts generally consider similar factors and that differing outcomes can reflect differing facts. The Frederics also argued that the Missionaries failed to show that alternative locations for the grotto were unavailable.
An attorney for the Frederics did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The case also puts two constitutionally significant areas of law alongside one another — religious exercise and the authority of local governments to regulate property use.
While Gardner acknowledged that zoning serves a legitimate role in how local governments organize, he argued those same regulations remain subject to federal-level protections for religious exercise. That question, he said, reaches well beyond one prayer grotto in Kentucky.
The SCOTUS ruling could affect disputes involving churches, synagogues, ministries and other religious organizations seeking to use their properties for worship or religious activities, according to Gardner. He warned that an overly narrow interpretation of the federal law could have “dire consequences” for religious land use around the country.
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For the Missionaries of St. John the Baptist, however, the case that could shape religious land-use law across the country began with something much smaller, a roughly 600-square-foot place of prayer.
Jasmine Baehr is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital, where she covers politics, the military, legal debates surrounding life and family policy, as well as faith and culture.
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