Washington – Prisons Will Return Religious Materials

Washington – Religious materials are being returned to prison chapel libraries, the U.S. Bureau of Prisons said, confirming plans to modify a program designed to remove religious books and videos that could incite violence.
The change follows objections by members of Congress and religious groups.

Removal of religious material grew out of a Justice Department Inspector General report suggesting that chapel books and videos should be reviewed to ensure they were allowed under prison security policies.

But a letter from the House Republican Study Committee chairman, Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Tex., expressed concern. "There's probably a limited universe of materials that incite violence, and I understand that perhaps those need to be banned," said Hensarling. "Instead, what the Bureau of Prisons appears to be doing is really censoring religious texts, deciding what is acceptable." [AP]