Background
Religious freedom is the very first liberty listed in our Bill of Rights and is our most fundamental freedom. In the prison context religious freedom raises particularly nettlesome issues. Denying religious liberty could cut off the inmates’ best hope for a transformed life. However, sham religiosity might be used as a pretext to undermine institutional security and safety.
Two important federal statutes – the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA) and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA) – apply very similar legal tests to protect the religious freedom rights of prisoners in federal and state institutions, respectively. These laws establish a high level of legal protection for inmates’ practices that are part of a sincerely held religious belief.
Since its passage, the Constitutionality of RLUIPA has been challenged multiple times. However, in 2005 the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld the Act in the case Cutter v. Wilkinson.
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Testimony of Pat Nolan Before the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security
11/8/07 |
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2/08/2008 - Justice Fellowship |
A publication of Prison Fellowship
Also Available: Layman's Guide to Arbitrary Allocation |
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The Radicalization of Prisoners |
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By Mark Earley|Published Date: July 16, 2009
Recently the FBI arrested four members of a would-be terrorist cell in New York.
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By Mark Earley|Published Date: June 30, 2009
Last week on “BreakPoint” I told you about the InnerChange Freedom Initiative, or IFI, a faith-based program that helps prisoners become law-abiding citizens. I told you then that Barry Lynn and the Americans United for the Separation of Church and State had sued the state of Iowa, Prison Fellowship, and IFI, claiming that the initiative is unconstitutional.
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