Daniel Grand, a devout orthodox Jew, invited a dozen friends to his home for a prayer meeting.

When the City of University Heights, Ohio, found out about this prayer meeting, the City served Daniel a cease-and-desist letter that accused him of starting an illegal synagogue in his home.

The city did not stop there, however. In addition to the cease-and-desist, the city ordered police to spy on Daniel’s home and asked neighbors to report on his whereabouts and if anyone were to visit his home.

Sounds like Cold War Germany, doesn’t it? And yet, this happened in 2021 in modern-day America.

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), an organization that has dedicated itself to the protections of the First Amendment took Daniel on as a client back in May of this year and in June, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear Daniel Grand’s case in what has become the most important religious liberty legal battle in the country.

John Bursch of the ADF said in a statement,

“Every American has the right to host a prayer gathering in his home, and he certainly doesn’t need a city permit to do so. When the government officials forbid that, courts must hold those individuals accountable, immediately…

The city’s actions underscore a troubling trend of weaponizing zoning laws against people of faith while allowing other gatherings of the same size, like book clubs or poker nights, to meet without issue…”

Religious liberty, free speech, and freedom of assembly is guaranteed to every American in the First Amendment of our Constitution. The City’s actions against Daniel Grand are gross violations of these freedoms.

Pastors Calvin Lindstrom and Jim Scudder commented on the vital importance of this case for all other religious freedom cases:

“Grand v. City of University Heights is a vital case where religious liberty and its free exercise is at stake. Similar cases like this have taken place in Connecticut from 2000-2005, Florida in 2005, New York in the 1990’s, and California in 2021. We can hope that SCOTUS will make clear that local municipalities have no valid reason for stopping religious services in homes. A defeat for freedom in this case would certainly empower municipalities to harass Christians and others from holding services in their own homes.” ~ Pastor Calvin Lindstrom, Church of Christian Liberty, Arlington Heights, Illinois

“Telling a Jewish man that he can’t have a prayer gathering in his home is the same as telling a Christian he can’t have a Bible study in his home. American was founded to give us these liberties. We can’t let America become like China, restricting the rights of people of faith.” ~ Pastor Jim Scudder, Quentin Road Baptist Church, Lake Zurich, Illinois

The impact of this decision will be great either way. If the Supreme Court refuses to uphold the First Amendment rights of Daniel Grand, the precedence of our religious freedom in America, which our Founders fought so hard for, will take a dangerous wrong turn.

Please pray that the Supreme Court will uphold not only Daniel Grand’s Constitutional rights, but ultimately every American Christian’s right to the freedom of religion.

“Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction.” ~ Ronald Reagan