Separation: Prison and Police Chaplains
Government chaplains and the separation of church and state
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There have, of course, been a variety of other chaplains who have benefited from government support. One common type is the prison chaplain, assigned to minister to prisoners. The argument for the constitutionality of prison chaplains is similar to that of military chaplains - when people are forced by the government to leave their religious communities, it makes sense to consider that not providing them with spiritual counseling would constitute an infringement on their rights to freely exercise their religious beliefs.
However, as with other types of chaplains, this position is open to great abuse. A clear example of that was demonstrated in Wisconsin when Gary McCaughtry, warden of Waupun Correctional Institution, broke with tradition and actually hired a non-Christian chaplain. Rev. Jamyi Witch is, indeed, a witch - a Wiccan who was a volunteer minister in the state prison system since 1999 and began working as a full-time chaplain at the maximum security facility in December.
Whereas politicians have rarely raised a fuss over paying to have Christian chaplains in the prisons, the idea of a non-Christian chaplain was infuriating. A good example of this religious double standard was made by State Representative Scott Walker (R-Wauwatosa), chairman of the legislature's Assembly Corrections and Courts Committee, who said:
Not only does she practice a different religion than most of the inmates Ð she practices a religion that actually offends people of many other faiths, including Christians, Muslims and Jews. ...Taxpayers shouldn't be forced to accept this hocus-pocus
As a result, State Representative Mike Huebsch (R-West Salem) will sponsor a bill to eliminate state funding for the chaplain's position. Ironically, Huebsch has argued repeatedly in the past that it was important to increase the number of chaplains serving in state prisons. But of course, such an increase only applies to religions which he (and presumably the inmates) happen to like.
This sort of religious favoritism is exactly what the separation of church and state is supposed to prevent. Government must not be seen as favoring or endorsing any particular religion or religious tradition over others. Government must also not abuse its power over particular citizens (like prisoners or soldiers) by providing them with "spiritual counseling" from approved religious beliefs.
If a Catholic chaplain can coordinate services for Jews or Muslims, then there is no obvious reason why a Wiccan can't do the same for Catholics. No one has complained about the Episcopalian chaplain, even though there are few members of that denomination in the prison. It is unlikely that either Huebsch or Walker realize that taxpayers shouldn't be paying for any chaplains, not simply the chaplains which those two dislike.
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