A federal judge has ruled that an evangelical Christian program operating in an Iowa state prison promotes religion with state funds, in violation of the Establishment Clause of the Constitution. The court ordered the program to reimburse the government $1.5 million.

On June 2, Judge Robert W. Pratt of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa found a prison pre-release program operated by Prison Fellowship Ministries (PFM) "literally established an Evangelical Christian congregation within the walls of one of its penal institutions." He also found "no adequate safeguards present, nor could there be, to ensure that state funds were not being directly spent to indoctrinate Iowa inmates."

In his ruling in Americans United for Separation of Church and State v. Prison Fellowship Ministries , Judge Pratt enjoined PFM from operating the InnerChange program within the Iowa Correctional Facility as long as it is supported by government funding. Pratt denied the defendants' request to alter the program, reasoning that it "would encourage the Court to engage in micro-management of a state correctional agency--something that is discouraged except in the most necessary of circumstances." In addition, Pratt ordered PFM to reimburse the state the "full amount of state funds paid to the program since the inception of its contractual relationship with the Dept. of Corrections in 1999," amounting to over $1.5 million.

Faith-based organizations are barred from using direct government financial assistance to support any "inherently religious" activity, including worship, religious instruction, and proselytization. An organization that engages in inherently religious activities must offer those services to beneficiaries separately in time and location from programs and services supported by non-private funds.

In his opinion, Pratt concluded that:

1. the prisoners in the program were subjected to an intense, Christian-based program in which there were no secular alternatives or alternatives for other faiths,

    

2. the non-religious content could not be separated from the faith-based content,

    

3. the prisoners who participated in the program received tangible benefits other prisoners did not receive, and

    

4. the state knowingly chose a religious organization to carry out a state function, thus burdening the program staff with the same responsibilities of any state employee, including the prohibition against using state resources to teach others their form of religion.

These factors led Pratt to find that the state had committed "severe violations" of the Establishment Clause. Pratt remarked, "The level of religious indoctrination supported by state funds and other state support in this case in comparison to other programs treated in case law...is extraordinary."

PFM president Mark Earley said the organization will file an appeal with the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals this week. In a statement Early alleged, "This decision, if allowed to stand, will enshrine religious discrimination. It has attacked the right of people of faith to operate on a level playing field in the public arena and to provide services to those who volunteered to receive them."

American United's Executive Director Barry Lynn countered in a statement, "Tax funds cannot underwrite conversion efforts. The bottom line is government has no business paying for religious indoctrination and conversion programs in prisons and any other tax-funded institutions".

Pratt ordered the injunction and repayment suspended pending the appeal, meaning the penalties will not take effect during the appeal process.