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Go to Church or Go to jail...

I

IBMer

Golden Member
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2011/09/26/go-to-church-or-go-to-jail-alabama-rejects-the-constitution/

Operation Restore Our Community or “ROC”…begins next week. The city judge will either let misdemenor offenders work off their sentences in jail and pay a fine or go to church every Sunday for a year.

If offenders elect church, they’re allowed to pick the place of worship, but must check in weekly with the pastor and the police department. If the one-year church attendance program is completed successfully, the offender’s case will be dismissed.
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The chief of police responded with:

…the program is legal and doesn’t violate separation of church and state issues because it allows the offender to choose church or jail…and the church of their choice.
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I love how they delusionally think that this isn't effected by the separation of church and state. Thankfully the program is put on hold now.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/church-jail-alabama-puts-alternative-incarceration-hold/story?id=14616349
 
lols wtf? i could see the argument on how is it any different than deterring someone to a 12 step program for drugs or some shit, but not all of those are church related things. telling someone to go to church clearly violates that lols.
 
If they are free to choose a humanist church, a church of satan, a unitarian church, or truly ANY church of their choice then I don't see too much of a problem with it.

The court is more mandating social/community interaction than a religion.
 
Jaepheth said:
If they are free to choose a humanist church, a church of satan, a unitarian church, or truly ANY church of their choice then I don't see too much of a problem with it.

The court is more mandating social/community interaction than a religion.
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Start your own church?

"Why yes, I attended the church I founded."
 
So much for separation of church and state.

While I admire the efforts of the judge, I disapprove of forcing people to go to church.


CallMeJoe said:
It's Bay Minette, Alabama. Your only choice is Protestant or Catholic.
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Considering there are maybe 12 different types of Protestants,,,,,,,,,.
 
IBMer said:
So the choice is jail or religion?
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Not necessarily. I should have had some sort of Atheist fellowship in there.

I think having people be part of their community would decrease recidivism. It'll probably prove too difficult to create a formal system to do such, but I think it's worth a try.

I also realize that the judge/police chief's intentions in this instance are probably evangelical, but I see some potential in the idea in general.
 
If there was some non-religious community option, I actually don't think it'd be a terrible idea. However, in practice this is probably going to be terrible because 1: they'll probably sentence people harsher than normal trying to get them to choose church and 2: in reality people are probably going to have a very limited choice in where to go.
 
Cogman said:
Start your own church?

"Why yes, I attended the church I founded."
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I'm an ordained minister, who wants to join my church? You're required to attend services every Sunday held at your local sports bar and presided over by Reverend D. Rec Teevee.
 
Texashiker said:
So much for separation of church and state.

While I admire the efforts of the judge, I disapprove of forcing people to go to church.




Considering there are maybe 12 different types of Protestants,,,,,,,,,.
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how is allowing an alternate choice the same as forcing?

not that I agree with allowing the choice, but choice is not forcing
 
CallMeJoe said:
No where near that many in Bay Minette.
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Wikipedia says Bay Minette, Alabama had a population of 7,726 people in 2007.

For the deep south bible-belt, you are probably looking at 10, 11, 12,,, churches for a town that size.

The town I live in, Jasper, we have around 13 churches for a population of about 8,000 people. Make that around 14 churches, a spanish church opened up a couple of months ago.
 
Drag every official involved into the streets and burn them alive at the stake. Then leave their smoldering bodies on display as a warning to other theocrats and piece of shit zealots.

GET YOUR GOD DAMNED MOTHER FUCKING RELIGION THE HELL OUT OF MY GOVERNMENT!!!
 
Texashiker said:
Wikipedia says Bay Minette, Alabama had a population of 7,726 people in 2007.
For the deep south bible-belt, you are probably looking at 10, 11, 12,,, churches for a town that size.
The town I live in, Jasper, we have around 13 churches for a population of about 8,000 people. Make that around 14 churches, a spanish church opened up a couple of months ago.
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Ten or so churches, most of them Baptists of one flavor or another.
 
CallMeJoe said:
By this logic, "buy health insurance or go to jail" isn't really a mandate, it's just another choice...
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The difference dummy is that the people aren't sentenced to buy health insurance. Here you have people that are already sentence to go to jail, and being given a choice to do what they are already sentenced to, or go to church instead.
 
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