Modern Book Burning

Now I may not be the most religious person in the world, but I do respect the rights a beliefs of those around me. This is why it is so frustrating to see the Standardized Chapel Library Project become so distorted. The project, an effort from the Bureau of Prisons and the Justice Department, attempts to purge religious books and materials in prison chapels. According to the Bureau of Prisons, it is a way of barring access to materials that could, "discriminate, disparage, advocate violence or radicalize." This seems reasonable enough until you discover that panels of experts are used to create lists of up to 120 approved book titles for the 20 religions or religious categories it created. The lists are broad, but reveal eccentricities and omissions, along with obvious favoritism to certain publishing houses. The bureau has also not provided additional money to buy the books on the lists, so after purging the shelves there are few approved books available to prisoners. This is almost like shooting a gnat with a 12-gauge because chaplains already reject inappropriate materials, and any donated materials have to approved by prison officials. This purging of religious materials also presents a serious violation of the First Amendment right to freely exercise religion, as well as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. While the government does have a legitimate right to screen out books that may incite violence, they do not have the ability to restrict and determine accessible religious teachings for prisoners without concrete justification; which they do not have or at least attempted to present.

For the full article from the New York Times, click here.