An Alabama megachurch is slated to have its own police force by the fall after Republican Gov. Kay Ivey signed a bill into a law that allows it to do just that.
The law permits Briarwood Presbyterian Church to “appoint and employ one or more suitable persons to act as police officers to protect the property of the school or academy.”
Officials in Briarwood Presbetyrian church say the law is crucial to protect its 4,100 members, including 2,000 students and faculty on its two campuses, according to CNN.
A similar bill was brought to the state legislature four years ago, but was dropped amid public outcry against the Presbetyrian Church of America’s racist history. Opponents, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama, say the law violates the Establishment Clause’s separation of church and state.
The ACLU called the law “a threat to our freedom of religion and a violation of the Establishment Clause,” and expects it will be challenged in the courts.
Briarwood Presbetyrian Church is part of the PCA, a conservative denomination that originated in 1970s Alabama, just a few years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The PCA apologized in 2016 for its racist policies during that time, including “the segregation of worshipers by race” and its “participation in and defense of white supremacist organizations.”
