Jesus or jail
Judges in Bay Minette, Alabama, are now giving people convicted of misdemeanors the choice of going to jail, paying a fine, or attending church every Sunday for a year. If the person attends church every day for a year their charges are dismissed.
"It violates one basic tenet of the Constitution, namely that government can’t force participation in religious activity," Olivia Turner, executive director for the ACLU of Alabama told the paper.Rowland acknowledged there were concerns about separation of church and state complaints but said he didn't see it as too big of a problem because offenders weren't being forced to attend church, they are just being given the option.
There you have it. So long as there is the option of going to jail, clearly there is no constitutional problem because no one is forcing them to attend church. I have no doubt that well meaning Christians working in courts across the South are now wondering why they did not think of it first. Back in June I blogged about Courts forcing religion on people - a judge in Mississippi was suspended for requiring church attendance as a condition of bail, there is ongoing litigation against the Berkeley County jail for denying access to any literature except the King James version of the Bible, and, in Horry County, one of the conditions of juvenile arbitration is that the juvenile attend church.
