BOSTON — City officials in Salem, Massachusetts, are under fire as they push to ban churches and religious groups from renting public school space.

While the Salem School Committee moves forward with the proposal, a free speech and religious liberty group is threatening that it will sue The Witch City for “anti-Christian witch hunts.”

The Massachusetts Liberty Legal Center has sent a legal demand letter to the Salem board, warning them that a lawsuit is coming if they pass the religious group ban.

“I write on behalf of my client, House of Promise Church, to demand that you immediately cease any effort to discriminate against it or any other religious organization based on their religious beliefs and viewpoints,” wrote Sam Whiting, counsel of the Massachusetts Liberty Legal Center.

“It is our understanding that you are in the process of approving a policy that would ban religious organizations, and only religious organizations, from renting or leasing space in Salem Public Schools,” Whiting added. “This would constitute a clear First Amendment violation. Should you pass and implement this policy, we will take immediate legal action to preserve my client’s rights.”

House of Promise Church is a non-denominational Christian church that has reserved space in the auditorium of Collins Middle School for Sunday worship services for a number of years.

Meanwhile, many other organizations also rent space from Salem Public Schools for their meetings and activities, such as the Boys and Girls Club, a daycare, and afterschool programs.

Last month, the Salem School Committee proposed a change to the policy for the “Lease and Rental of School Facilities.” The amendment would ban religious organizations from leasing or renting school space.

“Which is not uncommon in school districts throughout Massachusetts,” School Committee member Beth Anne Cornell said during a recent meeting. “And that is to address concerns that we may have a religious organization whose values maybe don’t align with the district’s (values).”

She noted the district’s budgetary concerns over the next few years.

“Space is going to be important to us in the coming years,” Cornell said, adding, “We really need to start thinking about the way that we use space throughout the district.”

The Massachusetts Liberty Legal Center is arguing that the religious ban would be unconstitutional.

The policy would “unquestionably violate” the First Amendment rights of House of Promise Church and all other religious groups that want to rent space at Salem Public Schools, Whiting wrote.

“Here, Salem clearly intends to discriminate against House of Promise Church based on the church’s religious viewpoints,” Whiting added. “Excluding a group based on its religious nature is itself viewpoint discrimination.

“But Salem has gone even further than this, implementing a policy that bans religious groups not just because they are religious but because, in the School Committee’s own words, they may hold ‘values that do not align to the district’s values,’ ” he wrote. “It should go without saying that banning some speakers because they may espouse views and values that the government does not like is textbook viewpoint discrimination.”

Whiting compared this situation to the Salem Witch Trials from centuries ago.

“Over 300 years later, history seems to be repeating itself, albeit with a different cast of characters,” he wrote. “This time, it’s not the Puritans hunting for witches, but Salem’s Public School Committee rooting out Christian churches… Apparently, someone needs to educate Salem about its own history – and that our Constitution doesn’t allow for anti-Christian witch hunts.”

The Salem School Committee at its next meeting on Tuesday is set to vote on the policy that would ban religious groups from renting.

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