The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (hereafter, “RLUIPA” or the “Act”) enacted on September 22, 2000, represents an undisguised attempt by Congress to circumvent two United States Supreme Court decisions — City of Boerne v. Flores, which struck down the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (“RFRA”), and Employment Div. Dep’t of Human Resources of Oregon v. Smith, which held that the compelling state interest test did not apply in a First Amendment Free Exercise Clause analysis.