In recent years the Church has found itself in the legal arena more than it ever saw coming.

The years between 1996 and 2004 saw a 600 percent increase in lawsuits filed against churches. It’s an upsurge that, in large measure, was precipitated by the sexual abuse revelations in Roman Catholicism, according to Prattville attorney Chuck Grainger.

But today’s lawsuits cover a whole gamut of topics in church life — not just abuse, Grainger said.

“We live in a litigious society and may face persecution in the future,” he said. And that doesn’t even touch nonlegal conflict that happens in churches.

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