If you were convicted of a felony and therefore sentenced to a term in one of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons’ 114 institutions, you might take your time to take stock of what you have done and vow to change your life. OK, maybe you wouldn’t. If you were an inmate with an honest objective at becoming a different person during your time in "the big house" then you may turn to religion as a way to make yourself a better person.
This may seem like a noble endeavor, but it has become a bit more difficult. The U.S. Bureau of Prisons has been extricating its chapel libraries of religious books and other mediums, (tapes, CDs, etc.), which were not on a Bureau-approved list, The New York Times reported this week. According to a Bureau spokesperson, this was done in order for prisons to avoid becoming recruiting grounds for militant religious groups. Furthermore, this Standardized Chapel Library Project – as it is called by the Bureau’s overseeing agency the Justice Department – has been set forth in order to block access to materials that could lead to violence.
The Times said the Library Project came about as a result of a 3 year-old report from the Office of the Inspector General of the Justice Department, which called for greater security because the 9/11 attacks, in order to keep correctional facilities from turning into a possible applicant pool for religious extremists.
Federal inmates are blocked access to Robert H. Schuller’s (you may know him as the white-haired, spectacle reverend from the Crystal Cathedral telecasts seen on weekday morning television) Living Positively One Day at a Time, which contains a page for everyday of the year with a Bible passage to read, a verse for memorization, a thought for reflection and a message from the reverend to encourage the reader toward a life of greater service.
Does this sound like hardcore radical propaganda meant to take lives of others in the name of some extremist ideology?
It doesn’t to me but perhaps it did to those on the bureau’s advisory staff who recommended Schuller’s book for censorship. It would be difficult to ask these theologians – or whoever these folks happen to be – since these individuals identities and professions have not been made public, according to The Times.
The rights of inmates should be rescinded. After all, they were probably not the most law-abiding of citizens. There are murderers in the inmate population who get to go to a library everyday while their victims no longer enjoy such a liberty. Who cares if these dregs of society get access to daylight, much less books?
The Bureau of Prisons does. On its Web site, the Bureau lists as one of its vision statements: "Through the provision of health care, mental, spiritual, educational, vocational and work programs, inmates are well-prepared for a productive and crime-free return to society."
Any religious program could include the need for further study by an inmate in order to maintain his or her faith. Perhaps the spiritual program outlined by the Bureau does not edify a prisoner. In this case, the need to seek out other ways to remain spiritual would come into play; inmates would need such materials in order to research a faith-laden way of life, which may keep them on the road to righteousness, which the Bureau is so devoted to achieving.
There are those books, however, that pander to mass destruction while hiding under the guise of religion. One such publication is Join the Caravan. Australia’s newspaper The Age, though, that has been banned from sale or import for promoting and inciting acts of terrorism against disbelievers, and is a real and genuine call to specific action by Muslims to fight for Allah and engage in acts of violence.
Yet, is Cardinal Avery Dulles’ The Assurance of Things Hoped For: A Theology of Christian Faith – a book dealing with not only the biblical foundations and history of theological reflection on faith but also Dulles’ own thoughts on topics such as the birth, growth, and loss of faith, and faith and salvation – also one of those books needing to be kept out of the hands of prisoners seeking spiritual enlightenment?
Prisoners seeking enlightenment should not be kept from doing so due to the few who seek to use spiritual awakening as a path to terrorism. While the Bureau still allows prayer books and other worship materials, these items may not be enough for some inmates to maintain their faith. Though Bibles and prayer books may work for some, others may need a different approach to spirituality. Not having a religious text in reach, which could potentially help a felon change his or her offending ways, does little to change that person into something different than the one who stepped inside.
Lopez, an English senior, can be reached via [email protected]
