In application of a 2004 report from the Inspector General in the Justice Department, thousands of religious books are being removed from U.S prisons. The motivation cited for the action is to barr access to materials that could “discriminate, disparage, advocate violence or radicalize.”
The Bureau of Prisons said it relied on experts to produce lists of up to 150 book titles and 150 multimedia resources for each of 20 religions or religious categories — everything from Bahaism to Yoruba. The lists will be expanded in October, and there will be occasional updates.
The Standardized Chapel Library Project is excluding works from the theologians Reinhold Niebuhr, Karl Barth and Cardinal Avery Dulles, and the influential pastor Robert H. Schuller. Read the whole article.