After nine years of legal fighting, a pair of Florida prison ministries have finally bested an activist atheist group in court.
Circuit Judge George Reynolds ruled Wednesday that the religious prison ministries are allowed to work with the government to provide services to inmates. An activist atheist group filed suit nearly a decade ago, alleging that the coordination was unconstitutional.
The New York-based atheist group, Center for Inquiry, cited a law that prohibited the state from funding religious groups. The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the group representing the two prison ministries, argued application of the law to this case would be an extreme interpretation.
“For most newly released offenders, the prison gate is a revolving door. Without help from groups like Prisoners of Christ and Lamb of Gob Ministries, many of these men would be back in prison in a matter of months, and most of them will be in handcuffs again in just two years,” Lori Windham, Senior Legal Counsel of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, said in a statement. “These men are dumped at the bus station with a few dollars and even less hope. They need help, and these private groups are there for them. They pick up these former prisoners, give them a safe place to stay, provide community and accountability, and help them find jobs.”
The two ministries, Prisoners of Christ and Lamb of God Ministries, help provide food, housing and even employment to prisoners. They work with inmates while they’re incarcerated and after they’re released. Part of those costs are reimbursed by the state. Similar programs have shown reduced recidivism rates for participating inmates.
“Lamb of God and Prisoners of Christ both openly describe themselves as Christian ministries, and engage in explicitly sectarian religious practices,” Ronald A. Lindsay, President and CEO of the Center for Inquiry, said in a statement before the ruling. “The people of Florida shouldn’t have their tax dollars used for religious purposes. Not only is that wrong in principle, but the Florida Constitution expressly prohibits the funding of religious institutions and activities. That money would be far better spent on secular, evidence-based rehabilitation programs.”
The Center for Inquiry has 30 days from the ruling to file an appeal.
“The Court was right to reject a discriminatory attempt to punish successful prisoner ministries simply because they were run by religiously-inspired people. Former prisoners need help, and it’s wrong to stop people who are helping just because naysayers on the sidelines don’t like religion,” Windham said in a statement. “It’s a pity that the ministries and the men they serve had to wait on pins and needles for a nearly decade because an activist group – who had no interest in helping prisoners or providing alternatives – had nothing better to do than try to bully a successful program out of existence.”
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