No forcing religion on people in jail, FFRF asks Minn. county jail officials
Publisher: In-Sight Publishing
Publisher Founding: September 1, 2014
Publisher Location: Fort Langley, Township of Langley, British Columbia, Canada
Publication: Freethought Newswire
Original Link: https://ffrf.org/news/releases/no-forcing-religion-on-people-in-jail-ffrf-asks-minn-county-jail-officials/
Publication Date: May 1, 2024
Organization: Freedom From Religion Foundation
Organization Description: The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with more than 40,000 members and several chapters across the country, including over 800 members and two chapters in Minnesota. Our purposes are to protect the constitutional principle of separation between state and church, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.
No forcing religion on people in jail, FFRF asks Minn. county jail officials
Don’t impose Christianity on people who are incarcerated, the Freedom From Religion Foundation is appealing to a Minnesota county’s jail authorities.
Concerned Itasca County taxpayers and residents have informed the state/church watchdog that the new Itasca County Jail will surround prisoners with quotes about the importance of religion along with the Ten Commandments. Independent media sources confirm that account. Several selective quotes from politicians promoting religion are also spread throughout the jail, such as “Within the covers of the bible are the answers for all the problems men face. — Ronald Reagan” and “If we ever forget we’re one nation under God, then we will be one nation gone under. – Ronald Reagan,” which are marked above cells. “I tremble for my Country when I reflect that God is Just: that his justice cannot sleep forever. — Thomas Jefferson” is placed on a glass door.
FFRF is asking Itasca County officials to remove the Ten Commandments display and the religious quotes.
“A Ten Commandments display, especially where the government holds a captive audience, violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment,” FFRF attorney Hirsh M. Joshi writes to Itasca County Jail Division Administrator Lucas Thompson.
The quotes advising prisoners to find answers in the bible and believe in God should also be removed, FFRF is insisting.
“Constituents — including prisoners — have the right to be free from the government proselytization,” states Joshi. “By suggesting that the bible holds ‘the answers for all the problems men face,’ the jail sends a message — to a captive audience — that those who practice Christianity during their stay will get favored treatment over those who do not.”
“The message to county officials is simple: Repaint and repent,” Joshi adds. “Paint over the quotes and Ten Commandments display, then apologize to constituents for wasting money on two paint jobs.”
Out of respect for its constitutional obligations under the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause, and the religious diversity of all prisoners, the jail should remove the Ten Commandments display and any quotes promoting religion, FFRF is demanding.
“This is clearly an imposition of a sectarian religious perspective on a group that has little choice in the matter,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “Itasca County officials are taking advantage of the situation.”
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