Supreme Court should protect religious freedom for prisoners, BJC says

March 21, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The right to practice one's faith is fundamental and should not be denied to persons in prison or other state residential facilities, says a Baptist church-state organization.

Today the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case brought by three Ohio prison inmates, claiming they were denied access to religious literature and the opportunity to conduct religious worship services.

The inmates invoked the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), legislation passed in 2000 that prevents prison officials from imposing a substantial burden on the religious practice of inmates unless there is a compelling reason to do so and there is no less-restrictive way to protect the state's interest.

A diverse coalition of more than 50 religious and civil liberties groups, led by the Baptist Joint Committee, supported the passage and signing of RLUIPA. Groups in the Coalition for the Free Exercise of Religion include the American Jewish Committee, Christian Legal Society, Family Research Council and People for the American Way.

The coalition filed a friend-of-the-court brief asserting that, despite claims by the state of Ohio, RLUIPA does not impermissibly advance religion. Instead, the law properly accommodates the rights of prisoners to engage in religious exercises. The brief is Cutter vs. Wilkinson.

"...Alleviating burdens on religious exercise does not have the primary effect of advancing religion," the brief states. "RLUIPA merely reduces intrusion and oversight by the government into how individuals practice their religion. While this may better enable individuals to advance their religious purposes, the Supreme Court has held this to be a permissible effect...."

"Where government acts to lift a substantial government-imposed burden on religion, it allows individual free exercise to flourish," BJC General Counsel K. Hollyn Hollman said. "That's why such a diverse coalition from across the religious spectrum has come together in support of this law."

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