“A Cautionary Tale about the Pitfalls of Faith-Based Prison Units”
“InnerChange”: A Conversion as the Price of Freedom and Comfort — A Cautionary Tale about the Pitfalls of Faith-Based Prison Units
Alex J. Luchenitser, 6 Ave Maria L. Rev. 445 (2008)
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But many of the program’s defects–most commonly, the domination of instruction by one sect and the linkage of material benefits with participation–have been reported to be present in many of the other faith-based units and prisons around the country. And although proponents of faith-based prison programs contend that the programs reduce recidivism, there is no scientific evidence supporting such a claim. In any event, even if it were shown that religious instruction prevents criminal behavior from reoccurring, this would not justify the constitutional violations associated with faith-based prison programs. To avoid the constitutional issues and policy concerns raised by many faith-based prison programs, prison officials and religious organizations should move away from the recently popularized in-prison-faith-immersion model. Religious practice and study can certainly do a great deal of good for those who desire it. Within prison, however, religious programs should not be linked to a prisoner’s living arrangements or to other material benefits and should be offered in a manner that minimizes state involvement and the risk of coercion. More intensive religious programs are best saved for presentation to interested criminal offenders after they are released from prison, when the dangers of excessive entwinement between government and religion are lower, and there is less of a threat that religious training will be used for material gain by those who lack genuine desire to deepen their faith. Through this path, people of faith can do the most good for those who share or are open to their faith, while the rights of those of other faiths and of the secular can be respected and protected.