Behind the Walls: A Guide for Families and Friends of Texas Prison Inmates

12. Religion

77 If adversity draws one closer to the Lord, the skies over most prisons should be ringing with hymns and the fences humming with prayer. Most convicts were not religious people before coming to jail—that truth is evident in their reckless, hurtful, selfish actions. However, the Lord is active in Texas prisons. Inmates who wish to pursue a spiritual awakening are extended almost every opportunity to do so. TDCJ extends quite a bit of freedom to inmates for them to pursue individual beliefs and practices. All inmates are encouraged to believe, worship, and to study their particular religion. Participation in any worship is voluntary, unless an inmate is assigned to one of the pre-release units that has a focus on spiritual fellowship as a foundation for rehabilitation, such as the CarolVance Unit, which houses the Inner Change Faith-Based Treatment Program. Many things contribute to the degree of religious freedom and array of religious activities on a particular unit: the dedication of the unit chaplains ; the involvement of community volunteers; the religious beliefs of the warden. In any case, this is one area where what TDCJ practices often exceed what its policy requires. When an inmate arrives at Diagnostic, he designates any religious preference . In order to change affiliations, he must notify Unit Classification religion Chapter twelve 78 Chapter Twelve of his desire to do so. He may do this by mailing a letter to Classification, or by asking the unit chaplain for assistance, but he must notify someone of his intent to change his religious preference, and he can only change once a year. This is important. For example, if an inmate says at Diagnostic that he is Baptist and later becomes involved in Islam, he will not be recognized as such unless he notifies Classification. He will not be allowed to purchase or keep a prayer rug or be served a meal consistent with Islamic practices, unless he officially changes religion. He may read the Quran and go to Islamic services and order Islamic literature, of course, but if a recognized group receives particular benefits, an inmate must officially say he is part of that group to receive those benefits. While inmates may practice a particular religion, they will not be given meeting space unless they are part of a group. A group—whether of Buddhists , Baptists, or Jehovah Witnesses—must include at least fifteen inmates on a particular unit. At that point, if recognized by the warden, the group will be granted meeting space on a pro rata basis. The time and space allowed will be dependent on the percentage of the unit population that the requesting faith group represents. This is why Catholic and Protestant services get the most time and space. Chaplains are available on every unit, and some units have volunteer chaplains in addition to the one or two that are employed by the state. Chaplains are responsible for developing and conducting the programs of worship and often will invite and encourage local volunteers to enter the prison to minister to inmates. If you are interested in spreading your faith at a prison near you, contact the chaplain’s office at the prison and ask to meet with him or her. TDCJ has a set of criteria that volunteers must meet, but that criteria may change from month to month, and the training expected of volunteers may also change. It is not so easy as just walking through the prison gates. Because the standards are so dictated by the warden’s wishes, I will not attempt to describe the criteria any particular person needs to meet before being allowed to enter the prison to minister to inmates. Periodically, various faith and gospel groups will drop in on Texas prisons for a weekend or weeklong revival. The Bill Glass Crusade, Chaplain Ray ministries, and the Kenneth Copeland ministry (featuring ex-Houston Oiler Mike Barber,) are some of the religious groups that have seen fit to bless Texas inmates with regular visits. There are also local gospel groups that may come onto a particular unit on religious Religion 79 holidays to accompany a unit choir in hymnal celebration and to share their testimony. There is a Kairos program offered on many units, which consists of local religious volunteers who form mentor relationships with inmates who desire a closer relationship with an older person who may help them in their religious studies. Contact...