Inmates incarcerated in the United States penal system practice a variety of religions. Their basic constitutional right to worship has been reinforced by decades of court decisions and more recently by the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. However, several of these court rulings have also set limitations on these rights when prisoner demands are seen to impede prison safety and function.
While inmates often worship as individuals they also frequently do so within the structure provided by the programs of religious groups and denominations tending to the incarcerated. Nearly all correctional facilities provide support for at least the Abrahamic religions: Christianity, Islam and Judaism. Chaplains, volunteers and other representatives of these groups may organize religious services as often as daily in large prisons, while also providing pastoral care to inmates and staff.[1]
Some U.S. prisons offer contemplative programs for inmates and staff, which may include meditation, yoga or contemplative prayer. While these programs are sometimes secular they are also frequently sponsored by religious organizations[2][3] and interfaith groups. Such programs have an established history. In the 19th century Quaker ideas,[4][5] were co-opted by Pennsylvania prisons which had inmates meditate upon their crimes as a key component of rehabilitation.[6][7] In the 1970s organizations such as the Prison-Ashram Project[8] and SYDA Foundation began programs to offer meditation or yoga instruction to inmates.[9][10] In subsequent years more religious groups have begun meditation programs, such as the Prison Dharma Network in 1989.[8] Modern meditation programs are thought to help inmates deal with the stress of confinement.[11] One recent study has suggested that such programs help to reduce a host of undesirable and unhealthy behaviors, like drug use, violence and risk taking.[12] Not all prisons allow contemplative programs, leading some to use religious freedom provisions as a way to gain access to the programs.[13] For instance, court actions recognizing Zen Buddhism as an "acceptable religion" have secured meditation programs in New York prisons.[13]
Traditions
Protestantism
A Pew study found that the majority of US inmates are Protestant Christians.[14]
Saint Dismas Prison Ministry was founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 2000 to offer spiritual services for Catholic prisoners in the United States.[15] The president is George Williams, a priest.[16]
It was named after Dismas, the repentant thief. The ministry was founded in 2000 by Ron Zeilinger who found no "Catholic organization of a national scope providing Catholic materials”.[17][18] The ministry distributes bibles to prisoners.[19]
In 2006, Scott Jensen chose to remain on the ministry board after he was forced to leave the Wisconsin State Assembly following a felony conviction that was later overturned.[20]
In addition to immigration, the state, federal and local prisons of the United States contribute to the growth of Islam in the country.[21] According to the then Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Harley G. Lappin, not counting members of the Nation of Islam, there were 9,600 Muslim inmates in federal prisons in 2003.[22] However, J. Michael Waller claims that roughly 80% of the prisoners who find faith while in prison convert to Islam and that these converts made up 17–20% (around 350,000) of the total (state and federal) prison population, in 2003.[23]
There are a variety of Neopagan practitioners in the prison population many of whom are served by a variety of prison outreach programs. Mattias Gardell indicates that "a pagan revival among the white prison population, including the conversion of whole prison gangs to the ancestral religion."[24] In 2001 there were prison groups associated with Wotansvolk in all states of the nation supporting more than 5000 prisoners.[citation needed] The women's group Sigrdrifa, which has chapters in the United States and Canada, also runs an "Odinism in Prison" project, while the Odinic Rite and the Ásatrú Alliance have prisoner outreach programs as well.[citation needed]
The ability of Neopagans to practice their religion in U.S. prisons has been shaped by the outcome of two significant court cases. In 1985, Virginia prisoner Herbert Daniel Dettmer sued Robert Landon, the Director of the Virginia Department of Corrections, in federal court to get access to objects he claimed were necessary for his Wiccan religious practice. The district court for the Eastern District of Virginia decided in Dettmer's favor, although on appeal, in Dettmer v. Landon the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that while Wicca was a religion, it was not a violation of the First Amendment to keep a religious practitioner from accessing ritual objects. In 2005 Cutter v. Wilkinson came down on the side of at least three Neopagan prison inmates protesting the denial of access to ceremonial items and opportunities for group worship. Yet in their decision the court reinforced the notion that "should inmate requests for religious accommodations become excessive, impose unjustified burdens on other institutionalized persons, or jeopardize an institution's effective functioning, the facility would be free to resist the imposition."[25]
↑ Dammer, Harry R. (2006) "Religion in prison." In Encyclopedia of American Prisons, edited by Marylin D. McShane and Frank P. Williams III. New York: Garland Publishing. pg. 400
↑ Adamson, Christopher (2001). "Evangelical Quakerism and the Early American Penitentiary Revisited: The Contributions of Thomas Eddy, Robers Vaux, John Griscom, Stephen Grellet, Elisha Bates, and Isaac Hopper". Quaker History. 90 (2): 35–58. doi:10.1353/qkh.2001.0016. S2CID159619264.
Heathenry is a modern Pagan new religious movement that has been active in the United States since at least the early 1970s. Although the term "Heathenry" is often employed to cover the entire religious movement, different Heathen groups within the United States often prefer the term "Ásatrú" or "Odinism" as self-designations.
The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a religious and political organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930. A black nationalist organization, the NOI focuses its attention on the African diaspora, especially on African Americans. It promotes a form of Islam that differs considerably from mainstream Islamic traditions. Scholars of religion characterize it as a new religious movement. It operates as a centralized and hierarchical organization.
Wotansvolk promulgates a white nationalist variant of Neo-Paganism—founded in the early 1990s by Ron McVan, Katja Lane and David Lane (1938–2007) while Lane was serving a 190-year prison sentence for his actions in connection with the white supremacist revolutionary domestic terrorist organization The Order. After the founding of 14 Word Press by David Lane and his wife Katja to disseminate her husband's writings, Ron McVan joined the press in 1995 and founded Temple of Wotan. 14 Word Press - Wotansvolk proceeded to publish several books for the practice of Wotanism before becoming defunct in the early 2000s.
Cutter v. Wilkinson, 544 U.S. 709 (2005), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that, under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), facilities that accept federal funds cannot deny prisoners accommodations that are necessary to engage in activities for the practice of their own religious beliefs.
The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), Pub. L.106–274 (text)(PDF), codified as 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc et seq., is a United States federal law that prohibits the imposition of burdens on the ability of prisoners to worship as they please and gives churches and other religious institutions a way to avoid zoning law restrictions on their property use. It also defines the term "religious exercise" to include "any exercise of religion, whether or not compelled by, or central to, a system of religious belief." RLUIPA was enacted by the United States Congress in 2000 to correct the problems of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) of 1993. The act was passed in both the House of Representatives and the Senate by unanimous consent in voice votes, meaning that no objection was raised to its passage, so no written vote was taken. The S. 2869 legislation was enacted into law by the 42nd President of the United States Bill Clinton on September 22, 2000.
A spiritual practice or spiritual discipline is the regular or full-time performance of actions and activities undertaken for the purpose of inducing spiritual experiences and cultivating spiritual development. A common metaphor used in the spiritual traditions of the world's great religions is that of walking a path. Therefore, a spiritual practice moves a person along a path towards a goal. The goal is variously referred to as salvation, liberation or union. A person who walks such a path is sometimes referred to as a wayfarer or a pilgrim.
Dettmer v. Landon, 799 F.2d 929, is a court case in which the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that although Wicca was a religion, it was not a violation of the First Amendment to deny a prisoner access to ritual objects.
The Church and School of Wicca was founded by Gavin Frost and Yvonne Frost in 1968. It was the first federally recognized Church of the religion known as Wicca in the United States. It is well known for its correspondence courses on the Frosts' unique interpretation of Wicca. The Church and School are located in Beckley, West Virginia.
Prison religion includes the religious beliefs and practices of prison inmates, usually stemming from or including concepts surrounding their imprisonment and accompanying lifestyle. "Prison Ministry" is a larger concept, including the support of the spiritual and religious needs of prison guards and staff, whose work in an often demanding and brutal environment often creates a special need for pastoral care, similar to the care that is extended to the military, police officers and fire fighters.
Modern pagans are a religious minority in every country where they exist and have been subject to religious discrimination and/or religious persecution. The largest modern pagans communities are in North America and the United Kingdom, and the issue of discrimination receives most attention in those locations, but there are also reports from Australia and Greece.
Modern paganism in the United States is represented by widely different movements and organizations. The largest modern pagan religious movement is Wicca, followed by Neodruidism. Both of these religions or spiritual paths were introduced during the 1950s and 1960s from Great Britain. Germanic Neopaganism and Kemetism appeared in the US in the early 1970s. Hellenic Neopaganism appeared in the 1990s.
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the Government generally respected this right in practice for all but a minority of religious groups. Government policy continued to contribute to the free practice of religion for all but those religions termed "sects." There was a report of an anti-Semitic physical attack against a person and a violent anti-Semitic attack against property. Other anti-Semitic incidents occurred during the year. There was some societal mistrust and discrimination against members of some non-recognized religious groups, particularly those referred to as "sects." During 2006 there were 32 cases of discrimination based on religion brought before the Equal Rights Commissioner. Muslims also reported prejudice, particularly with regard to headscarves and Muslim cemeteries.
Prison contemplative programs are classes or practices that are offered at correctional institutions for inmates and prison staff. There are measured or anecdotally reported benefits from studies of these programs such a stress relief for inmates and staff. These programs are gaining in acceptance in North America and Europe but are not mainstream.
The Prison-Ashram Project, now administered by Human Kindness Foundation, was started in 1973 by Bo and Sita Lozoff, in cooperation with Ram Dass, to encourage convicts to use meditation and other spiritual teachings, turning their prison time into an ashram-like experience. "Ashram" is a Sanskrit word meaning "House of God".
Cruz v. Beto, 405 U.S. 319 (1972), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the court upheld a Free Exercise claim based on the allegations that the state of Texas had discriminated against a Buddhist prisoner by "denying him a reasonable opportunity to pursue his Buddhist faith comparable to that offered other prisoners adhering to conventional religious precepts."
Jailhouse Jesus is the colloquial term for an observed psychological phenomenon of new inmates to 'find religion' during their incarceration. Whether it comes from a genuine desire to "repent", an appeal to authority, or other factors is a subject for debate.
Conversion to Islam in U.S. prisons refers to the contemporary high rate of conversion to Islam in American prisons, for which there are a number of factors. It is the fastest growing religion in U.S. prisons, where the population is 18 percent Muslim ; 80 percent of all prison religious conversions are to Islam.
The Prison Phoenix Trust (PPT) is a charity registered in England in 1988 that offers help to prisoners through the disciplines of meditation and yoga, working with silence and the breath. The PPT encourages prisoners – and prison staff – to take up a daily practice and supports them with classes, free books and CDs, and personal correspondence. It also sends out quarterly newsletters, written mostly by inmates. The PPT is non - denominational and works with those of any religion or none.
Conversion to Islam in prisons refers to the modern phenomenon seen in the Western world of a statistically high incidence of incarcerated criminal non-Muslims converting to Islam while in the prison system. In the decade preceding 2014, the number of conversions to Islam among prisoners in Western countries outpaced all other religions, with the overall imprisoned Muslim population growing as a result.
Contemplative Practices in Action: Spirituality, Meditation, and Health is an interdisciplinary scholarly and scientific book. It examines the nature, function, and impact of meditation and other contemplative practices in several different religious traditions, both eastern and western, including methods for incorporating contemplative practice into education, healthcare, and other human services. Edited by Thomas G. Plante and with a foreword by Huston Smith, the book was published in the United States by Prager in 2010. The book reviews evidences for health effects and includes 14 chapters divided among three major parts that focus on well-defined systems of practice, traditions as storehouses of many alternative forms of practice, and applications. It has been reviewed in several professional journals, including PsycCRITIQUES, and the Journal of Psychosocial Research,.
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