Religious Freedom in Prison

• Introductions: Name & Would you like to talk about The Da Vinci Code next time?
• Restatement of theme:
  • “If this issue was the reason a non-believer gave as their obstacle to Christianity, what would we say to them?”
  • Theme verse: “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart.” (Matthew 13:19)
• Today’s Topic: Religious Freedom in Prison
  • While I was trying to find anything all that interesting in the news—i.e. something that wasn’t just the same old issues over and over again—I ran across an article entitled “The ‘Jewish’ Con” from the Seattle Weekly. Let me read to you the first paragraph:
    • ‘Jewish chaplain Gary Friedman wasn’t surprised when he learned that incarcerated neo-Nazi gang members were claiming to be Jews at the Clallam Bay Corrections Center on the Olympic Peninsula. In fact, the chairman of the Seattle-based Jewish Prisoner Services International had been expecting the news. Nationwide, “There is this amazing phenomenon of non-Jews claiming to be Jewish,” says Friedman.’
  • The whole idea that prisoners would claim to be Jewish even if they weren’t—especially neo-Nazis—rather surprised me. Ultimately, it is a topic that asks not only, “Who’s really a Jew?”, but, also, it asks how ought we treat those in prison with varied religious beliefs.
  • Let me give you a brief overview of the gist of the article:
    • Of 120 prisoners in Washington state who are given kosher food, only 12 are Jewish. Why?
      • Some think the food tastes better, is more nutritious, or helps with weight loss.
      • Some like to pretend they are Jewish so they can ask for money from (rich?) Jewish organizations.
      • A few really do want to convert—which is difficult to do from within prison. (Orthodox Judaism doesn’t really encourage conversion, and it requires time, review by a board of rabbis, and even to live within walking distance of a temple to experience life in the community.)
      • One apparently thought he could get marital visiting rights by claiming parts of Jewish religious law.
      • Some prisoners just like the idea of having control over something—since prisoners generally just fill out a form stating their religious beliefs, with little evidence usually required.
      • In one prison, it was discovered that gang members (including neo-Nazis) were signing up for kosher food surprisingly often. At first, they thought it was for religious reasons. Later, they realized it was probably because kosher food was served at the same time three times daily—and the meals provided convenient times for the gangs to meet together.
    • Other states reported having gangs of white supremacists try take over Jewish groups after signing up as Jews.
      • Now, they’ve started to ask more detailed questions about a prisoner’s religion—just to try make sure they aren’t lying.
      • The worry, of course, is that restrictions may become too tight—and weed out true believers.
    • Dealing with people like Roland Pitre Jr. is more difficult.
      • He’s in prison for masterminding complicated murder “conspiracies.”
      • He was born Catholic and never formally converted to Judaism.
      • The prison used to ask advice from Jewish leaders, who said that Pitre must be a gentile.
      • The courts, however, generally insist that a person’s individual sincerity is more important than the statements from religious leaders.
      • Now, Pitre is leading Jewish services at his prison. Jewish officials aren’t terribly impressed for obvious reasons.
      • Some suspect that Pitre was going to use the Jewish religious requirements to get rights to visit his wife. He married for a third time while in prison. Some say he planned to sue to make the prison allow him to follow his religious beliefs that say a man must provide marital rights to his wife. Normally, only those who were married before they were in prison may have this right. Pitre denies this—he was divorced six months ago.
      • Some claim his beliefs are not consistent with Judaism.
    • Prisons generally go to a great degree to deal with variety of religions.
      • If a prisoner is a member of an unrecognized religion, he must work with officials to get the religion officially sanctioned. Currently, they recognize 26 religions.
      • At the Washington State Reformatory, there is a chapel (started by Christians but used by all faiths) and “sacred grounds.”
      • The sacred grounds is a small garden for Native Americans, Buddhists, Wiccans, and Asatrus. (I think the last group believes in pre-Christian Norse mythology.)
    • This is all tied together by a fair bit of court decisions, including the Supreme Court case Cutter v. Wilkinson.
      • A unanimous decision which decided that “prisoners in facilities that accept federal funds can not be denied accommodations necessary to engage in activities for the practice of their own religious beliefs—even if those beliefs are bizarre or repugnant.”
    • Conclusion to article: “Yet the First Amendment allows each American to be free of state interference in practicing his own version of religious belief. While it is distasteful, that cherished freedom protects a convicted murderer and conman who has constructed his own peculiar version of Judaism as much as it protects you and me.”
  • So, what do you think? Pros? Cons? Scripture?
    • Of course, this is expensive to do correctly.
    • Is it the government’s job to cater to everyone? How many rights do people lose when in prison?
    • What role ought religious organizations play?

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