Taking God Out of Prisons: Unintended Consequences

The New York Times reports today that there is a movement afoot in New York state prisons to remove most religious books in an attempt to quell violent, religious-based acts. The fear is that our prisons have the potential to become breeding grounds for Islamic terrorists. The solution--get rid of all religious materials, including the book that teach about love, redemption, and spiritual growth.

This is another example of taking it too far. To quote the times story:

A chaplain who has worked more than 15 years in the prison system, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is a bureau employee, said: “At some of the penitentiaries, guys have been studying and reading for 20 years, and now they are told that this material doesn’t meet some kind of criteria. It doesn’t make sense to them. They’re asking, ‘Why are our tapes being taken, why our books being taken?’ ”
Of the lists, he said, “Many of the chaplains I’ve spoken to say these are not the things they would have picked.”

This is too bad. Another "knee jerk" public policy decision that throws the baby out with the bathwater.