Does Christianity belong in prison?

The Associated Press

Even prisoners pray.

Featured Topic | Posted 32 weeks 1 day ago

Does Christianity belong in prison?

Iowa officials are ending a Bible-based treatment program at a state prison that has been the focus of a five-year federal court battle over the role of religion in government services. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis ruled in December that the program by Virginia-based Prison Fellowship advanced religion at government expense and that taxpayer money could not be used to finance the program.

But does invoking Christian principles to help rehabilitate prisoners do more harm than good? Is this really a case of religion treading too far over the "wall of separation"? Does religion have a place behind prison walls?

Ben likes: Crime and the cure of the soul

Charles Colson/First Things

I am convinced that what I saw in the punishment cell at Humaita Prison explains why its recidivism rate remains at 4 percent, while in the rest of Brazil it is a staggering 75 percent. The moral and spiritual approach to crime does work. The lesson for us here in America is that we cannot build our way out of the crime problem. We will stem the surging tide of crime only by a rehabilitation of the soul.

Joel likes: Jails for jesus

Samantha M. Shapiro/Mother Jones

InnerChange also offers substance-abuse treatment and free computer training, hot commodities in a time of budgetary woes. This year, the GED program Ellsworth offers regular prisoners was cut in half, the substance-abuse program eliminated.

General-population inmates are still offered a computer class through the local community college, but as it costs $150, and men who are lucky enough to land a prison job make an average of 60 cents a day, the general population's six computers sit under dust covers most days. As Issac Jarowitz, an Ellsworth inmate who isn't in InnerChange, noted grudgingly, "The Christians do lots of stuff the state used to do, like vocational programs, but now they're only for believers."

"I tell them this is their ticket," Raymond said, gesturing to the InnerChange ID card that inmates wear on a "What Would Jesus Do?" neck chain, "to everything they need."