The Implications for Inmate Rights of the Voluntary Provision of Religious Services

• DOI: 10.1177/0887403405280943
• Published date: 01 June 2006
• Date: 01 June 2006
• Author: Nancy T. Kinney
• Subject Matter: Articles

10.1177/0887403405280943Criminal Justice Policy ReviewKinney / Voluntary Provision of Religious Services

The Implications for Inmate

Rights of the Voluntary

Provision of Religious Services

Nancy T. Kinney

University of Missouri–St. Louis

Throughout U.S. history,volunteers have had a persistent role in supporting the religious

rights of prison inmates. In some states today, the only religious services available to

inmates are provided by volunteers. The presence of volunteers inside prisons may

potentially provide personal support to individuals in arguable need of ethical rehabilita-

tion. However, because the provisionof services is heavily reliant on the motivation of

volunteers, the religious needs of inmates may not be met. The situation is compounded

by America’s increasing cultural diversity. To understand the magnitude of the trend

toward voluntarism and its implications for the religious rights of inmates, this article

presents a framework for understanding the constitutional issues involved in using reli-

gious services volunteers and a description of the process whereby states have adapted to

volunteer-driven programs. It concludes by offering secondary analysis of national data

about some implications of volunteer use in religious services to inmates.

Keywords: prison ministry; volunteer programs; church and state

Religious volunteers have had a long and visible role in the reform, rehabilitation,

and reentry of offenders who have undergone incarceration in the United States.

During the Founding period, religious groups were instrumental in shaping societal

norms for the discipline and treatment of criminal behavior (Lewis, 1967; Shaw,

1995). Through groups such as the Philadelphia Society of Assisting Distressed Pris-

oners (founded in 1776) and similar organizations, volunteers in the emerging Repub-

lic often filled positions on boards of managers, provided Sunday school lessons as

well as instruction in the three Rs, and advocated for the humane treatment of prison-

ers. During the 19th century, many notable innovations in the structure and reform of

institutions were the product of the fervor of religionists (Katz, 1996; Rothman, 1971;

Shaw, 1995). Over time, constitutional concerns and administrative expedience for-

malized the part religion would play in the administration of prisons, mostly through

the function of chaplains and other ordained ministers in the employ of either state or

federal prisons. The role played by religious volunteers, however, remains as

unscripted as at any time during the history of corrections in either federal or state

institutions with important consequences for the religious rights of offenders.

188

Criminal Justice

Policy Review

Volume 17 Number 2

June 2006 188-201

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