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Iowa Prison to End Religious Program that Prompted Legal Fight

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The Associated Press
Thu, Feb. 28 2008 06:41 PM ET
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NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — State officials say they will end a Bible-based treatment program at Newton prison that has been the subject of a five-year court battle.

The Iowa Department of Corrections has notified Prison Fellowship Ministries in Virginia that the program, called the InnerChange Freedom Initiative, will end by mid-March, prison spokesman Fred Scaletta said in a copyright story in The Des Moines Register.

Prison Fellowship had a three-year state contract that ended in June to work with inmates. Prison officials had granted the group a one-year extension with donations covering expenses.

A provision in the agreement allows the prison to cancel the program if its enrollment drops below 60 inmates. That is expected to happen after a March 14 graduation ceremony for 27 prisoners, Scaletta said.

The program has been the subject of a protracted legal fight with Americans United for the Separation of Church and State in Washington, D.C.

In December, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis ruled that the program advanced religion at government expense and that taxpayer money could not be used to finance the program.

The program, in place in Newton for eight years, has operated solely on donations since July 1, 2007, when Gov. Chet Culver, a Democrat, signed legislation eliminating a state appropriation for the project.

Prison Fellowship has contended the program is voluntary and produces secular benefits such as improving inmates behavior, reducing the number of people returning to prison and protecting public safety. Inmates in the InnerChange program spend seven days a week in work, education and prayer.

Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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scitsonga
  • Fri Mar 21, 2008 6:12 pm
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Slacker "Dude you really need to read the constitution, i wish they taught the constitution in schools rather then misinterpretation... No where in the constitution does it say anything about "the seperation between church and state" it says "Congress shall pass no law establishing religion nor hinder the free expression thereofAgreed, the US Constitution does not contain “the separation of church and state”.


The phrase actually was penned by President Jefferson:

"Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State." - Jefferson, Thomas (1802-01-01). Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists.

This statement from the First Amendment establishes the separation:
“Congress shall pass no law establishing religion….”

The Founding Fathers of the US were students of history and did not want a repeat of the religious wars of Europe; hence they wanted to keep religion out of government.

“If they taught that in school more people would stand up and ask why is the governement hindering my free expression of religion in school....”

I dont think anyone is being denied free expression of their (students) beliefs, but teachers and administrators should not be “teaching” about their religion in the classroom. If teachers were allowed to teach their religion in the classroom, my guess is you would object if it were not Christian. How many denominations of Christianity are there?- thousands. Which “correct” version would be taught in school?
Slacker
  • Thu Mar 20, 2008 8:39 am
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to scitsonga:

" consider myself an agnostic. I visit this site because I am interested not in religion itself, but the politics of religion and religions influence ion society. I strongly believe in the US Constitution that states a person has a right to practice their religion without interference from government. I also believe that the US Constitution says that church and state should be kept seperate. I am here to do my part to prevent Christians, or any religion, from bluring the separation of church and state as they attempt to impose their beliefs on me. Religion is a very personal thing and should be kept out of government, courts and public schools. "

Dude you really need to read the constitution, i wish they taught the constitution in schools rather then misinterpretation... No where in the constitution does it say anything about "the seperation between church and state" it says "Congress shall pass no law establishing religion nor hinder the free expression thereof". If they taught that in school more people would stand up and ask why is the governement hindering my free expression of religion in school....
TerryH
  • Tue Mar 18, 2008 7:48 am
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Hey Tag,
This is a Christian site and I personally welcome those that are ignorant to God's Wrod. It gives us as Christians an opportunity to reach out to those that are lost with a spirit of love and truth. Jesus said "blessed are those that are persecuted for righteousness sake for their's is the kingdom of heaven", (Matt. 5:10). So don't take offense toward those who condemn Christians, just look at it as a confirmation of our salvation and eternal destiny. Shake their hands for opposing comments, they guarentee our destiny.
scitsonga
  • Fri Mar 14, 2008 12:24 pm
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aritonang "scitsonga, why do you delete my comments on several other article.
do you support censorhips like danny2/danny/first/bob?"

Ah, sorry to disappoint you, but I am not the one that deletes your comments. I have never deleted anyones comments except for my own for typo's. I'm told you can contact the webmaster and they will tell you who did the deleting, I dont know if that is true though. I strongly disagree with almost all your posts, but I am totally opposed to censorship of any kind. My posts get flagged quite often, I will not do to others, that which I would not want done to me- censorship in this case.
aritonang
  • Fri Mar 14, 2008 3:20 am
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scitsonga, why do you delete my comments on several other article.
do you support censorhips like danny2/danny/first/bob?
scitsonga
  • Thu Mar 13, 2008 9:41 pm
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Tag "Hmmm? I thought this was a "Christian" news web site for Christians. If that's the case, why are there so many non-Christian, liberals posting comments here?"

I hope your faith isn't so fragile that you feel threaten by alternative view points.

I consider myself an agnostic. I visit this site because I am interested not in religion itself, but the politics of religion and religions influence ion society. I strongly believe in the US Constitution that states a person has a right to practice their religion without interference from government. I also believe that the US Constitution says that church and state should be kept seperate. I am here to do my part to prevent Christians, or any religion, from bluring the separation of church and state as they attempt to impose their beliefs on me. Religion is a very personal thing and should be kept out of government, courts and public schools.
Tag
  • Thu Mar 13, 2008 5:20 pm
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Hmmm? I thought this was a "Christian" news web site for Christians. If that's the case, why are there so many non-Christian, liberals posting comments here?
aritonang
  • Wed Mar 12, 2008 1:34 am
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From Indonesia,

Atheist are funniest when they are about to be executed. Take a look at what we do normally. CIA supplied us with names of atheist proselytizer usually a Chinese. Then we take them down to the river and let the islamic al anshar hack them out with machetes.
scitsonga
  • Tue Mar 11, 2008 10:38 pm
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Looks like jar1961 has taken it upon himself to be the policeman for information control. Freedom of Speech would be the first victim in a theocracy, thats why it is important to keep religion out of government.

Here is something for you to consider jar- you can be silenced too.
jar1961
  • Tue Mar 11, 2008 10:00 pm
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The posting on this thread has nothing to do with the article. I am a prison chaplain and have seen what wonderful effects Christian based programs have. It is a shame that Virginia has opted to eliminate a powerful tool in the arsenal against criminality.

Atheism has won the day in Virginia.
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