Opinion ID: 3064442
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Religious Nature of Gift Shop

Text: [9] Renteria argues the gift shop’s operation cannot be considered a link to interstate or foreign commerce because no evidence was presented as to how much of the shop’s sales pertained to religious items and because the gift shop operated in furtherance of the synagogue’s religious mission. These contentions are irrelevant. While a house of worship may engage in activities that primarily further worship, it may also engage in other activities that are commercial in nature. United States v. Grassie, 237 F.3d 1199, 1210 (10th Cir. 2001). The fact that the gift shop’s sales may further the synagogue’s religious purposes does not take the shop’s operation out of the realm of commercial activity. The district court did 2032 UNITED STATES v. RENTERIA not err in considering the activities of the gift shop in determining the synagogue’s link to interstate or foreign commerce.