As mentioned in an earlier article during the prison strike prisoners do have the right to practice what religion they feel called to. Prisoners have the right to Religious Freedom. We have gone to Great Lengths to ensure that people’s religious freedoms are protected in this country regardless of their origin or The Narrative of the dominant culture. However prisoners have sadly not been able to enjoy these freedoms. Why was many other human rights that we take for granted and basic religious in our society religious freedom is one that prisoners are unable to experience all too often. Recently a comrade of my own on the inside was kept in solitary confinement for their his religious beliefs. prisoners have fought tooth-and-nail to have their dietary needs met as a part of their religious beliefs. Prisoners have also fought tooth-and-nail to be able to wear religious Garden pieces such as garments to cover their hair and their heads in respect of their religious belief. When a person is incarcerated it’s become the ideology that their personhood is also being punished when they should never be the case just because someone has committed a crime or been convicted of having committed a crime does not mean that their personhood has been abolished and all the freedoms that come with living as a dignified human being. Now is the time for us to reverse this trend in our society or person that is stripped from incarcerated individuals.
The Benefits of Committed Religious Practice
While practicing religion isn’t require for necessary behavior changes in prisoners, for those individuals who do decide to often see dramatic improvements in their emotional health, understanding of the world around them and in their ability to deal with the extremity of their circumstances, especially while they’re incarcerated. Forbes lists some of the many benefits of an individual practicing religion for not just the individual but also for others around them:
- Longer life expectancy
- Decreased dependency on alcohol and drug use
- Decreased Juvenile delinquency and criminal activity
- Increased academic attendance and performance
- Increased charitable actions
- More likely to practice gratitude and forgiveness with others
- Increased life satisfaction, hope and meaning in life
In a facility claiming to be focused on rehabilitation, supporting inmates religious beliefs would be a priority. Regardless of what an individual inmate’s beliefs are: Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Rastafarian, Buddhism, 5 percent Nation, or otherwise all of these practices have a foundation that values peace and places hope into the future. People who feel they have hope in the future live longer happier lives regardless of their current circumstances because they believe in a higher power that protects their best interest. People who are apart of a community that has community values and moral guidelines are more likely to practice grace, kindness and understanding with others in situations where conflict may arise. When individuals are able to depend on a perceived higher power they place less dependency on addictive behaviors like drugs and alcohol. The benefits to supporting inmates’ spiritual and religious beliefs are endless and they do not just benefit the religious prisoners. Supporting religious beliefs in incarcerated communities benefits all of the prisoners and the staff in the prison because prisoners who feel supported are less stressed, less impacted by negative situations that may arise, more prepared to resolve conflict and are more patient with those around them. Supporting all religious beliefs in the prison population contributes to a safer and more peaceful environment for everyone.
Religious Accommodations in Prisons
Understanding that religious commitment benefits the well being of individual inmates and as a result improves the community dynamics within the prison, officials should be doing everything they can within reason in order to accommodate prisoners ability to engage in their religious practices. However historically this has not been the case. We’ve discovered that
Inmates do have rights including their First Amendment rights which state, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Due to the fact that the first amendment applies to prisoners, officials are well outside of the provisions of the law in restricting prisoners access to the materials necessary for them to practice their religious beliefs effectively. Due to the restrictions placed on inmates’ access to the courts many have had to fight on a case by case basis through internal investigations within the prisons abusing their rights in an attempt to protect these basic rights that they have which can be extremely difficult to maintain while incarcerated. For example, there is a restriction on the amount of books that inmates can have at a time. A prisoner in the federal system approved as a practitioner of Sufism who educates and mentors other inmates is hindered by the book limitation. The nonessential restriction does not accommodate all of his reading materials. Along with this he is required to purchase a copy of the Quran through the department’s approved vender, which charges for each chapter add up to over $175. He is also required to purchase his own halal means from the department of corrections’ approved vendor which charges for each meal.It is a form of exploitation for the Bureau of Prisons and its approved vendors like Advanced Technology Group to sell religious content, especially at these outrageous prices. These charges are impossible for an incarcerated person to afford and effectively block an individual from being able to wholly practice their beliefs.
In 2011 US inmates in
Texas and in 2012 inmates in
Oklahoma sued over their constantly being served pork and it was removed from the menu entirely, while this was a milestone it did not resolve the problem for all Muslim inmates around the country. Some people may dismiss a person’s need to engage in certain practices but this can only be done by dismissing that person’s humanity. The consumption of non-halal meals is not permissible as an act of intaking impure and unhealthy food and no one should be
forced to compromise on this. There was a time where Muslim women in US prisons were not permitted to cover their hair for ‘security reasons’. This is complete disregard to the humanity of an individual attempting to practice their beliefs and now after several court cases have been filed against corrections departments across the country and now women are able to wear their hijab while in state custody. In the same way that accommodations were made for Muslim women to wear the hijab by providing a
resource where incarcerated women can obtain a permitted hijab to wear while in custody at a low-cost, all religious practices should be accommodated effectively at a low-cost. The civil rights of every individual, regardless of their criminal history or religious background should be protected. This contributes to preserving their mental health and emotional well-being which is of high priority in the volatile and unstable environments that prisons naturally are. Every essence of someones emotional stability, often found in one’s religion, should be preserved while incarcerated.
Deprivation of Humanity
The lack of accommodation for prisoners’ religious beliefs points directly to incarceration’s innate deprivation of one’s humanity. A prisoner was gracious in sharing documents with me from his current battles with the department of justice in securing his right to practice the freedom of religion. He has struggled to not only attain a full copy of the Quran and halal meals but he’s also been discriminated against by officers for his beliefs being placed into segregation as a result of his seeking accommodation and taking legal action when denied those accommodations. As I’ve mentioned in Do Prisoners Have Rights, inmates have the right to raise concerns about their environment and to be accommodated, especially when those concerns directly relate to the protection of their first amendment rights. For an inmate to be denied the basic necessities in practicing their religion and then punished for seeking a solution is not only ridiculous but also a complete abuse of power. Rather than punishing inmates seeking to live a better life by maintaining a strong relationship with their creator, staff should be working with prisoners to develop a solution that benefits everyone. Supporting prisoners religion beliefs has absolutely no consequences or costs. Many organizations provide religious texts at no charge, there is no reason for a prisoner to be forced to page nearly $200 for a book they can get for free in print or digital form.
Pointless restrictions most greatly affect religious minority groups, however the protections of religious freedom provided in the constitution which covers inmates equally does not only apply to more popularly practiced religions. In a country founded on the principle of religious freedom there should be a much stronger attempt to preserve inmates humanity through the accommodating of their religious beliefs regardless of how popular or mainstream they are so long as they do not promote death or destruction to others. For officers to use intimidation and retaliation tactics on prisoners seeking to be accommodated is entirely unethical. No person should have to suffer through abusive treatment in order for their rights to be protected, especially an inmate seeking to protect their religious rights which only work for the betterment of their self, their peers and their environment. Spirituality is unique to humans, we as human beings have the incredible ability to connect with a world outside of our senses that can empower the way that we perceive the world around us. Prisoners need to be able to connect with more than the world around them more than any of us on the outside. The world around them is often violent, oppressive, abusive and devoid of hope and opportunity. Many inmates find religion in prison, it’s a source of strength and comfort that should supported and accommodated in every way. There is nothing unsafe about a prisoners practicing their religious beliefs, a lack of safety is more often found in officials attempt to restrict them.
