“When the only alternative to going to church is going to jail,
that’s not really a choice . . .”
Allison Neal, Legal director for ACLU of Alabama
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| Photo by Beth Baugh |
Pro Choice
Officials in Bay Minette, Alabama (population 8,342) want to give nonviolent offenders a choice: go to jail or go to church. Those who choose church must agree to attend religious services every week for a year and in return get a chance to wipe their slate clean. Sweet deal, right? Not so, says the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). A choice between jail and church is no choice at all, they claim. Though some might argue the offenders made their choice when they broke the law, the town is now faced with a choice of its own. Officials received a cease and desist letter from the ACLU and have put their church-for-jail option on hold until the experts hash it all out. In the meantime, offenders—freed from the burden of choice—are locked away awaiting the decision.
Good Book
Officials in Oologah, Oklahoma (population 1,029) are brazenly planning to encourage their residents to attend church, and they don’t fear a nasty letter from the ACLU. That’s because town leaders bought the Oologah Methodist Church complex and are going to turn part of it into the town’s new library. Big plans for a small town, but residents have already pitched in to turn the church’s fellowship hall into the new town hall and police department, and they figure they can do the same thing with the sanctuary, turning it into a new library. When the work is done and it comes time to open the doors on the church-turned-library, folks won’t be pressed into worship, but they will be encouraged to check out a good book.
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