A prominent atheist legal group has asked an appeals court to uphold a lower court ruling that bans a theologically conservative Christian ministry from a Minnesota prison.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation filed an amicus brief late last month before the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit in the case of Anthony Schmitt v. Jolene Robertus et al.
The litigation centers on whether Schmitt and a colleague can continue to teach a faith-based rehabilitation program to male inmates at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in St. Cloud.
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Counsel Patrick Elliot of FFRF claims in the amicus brief that “Schmitt is an outsider who wants to present videos to prisoners that inculcate homophobia, toxic masculinity, and other reprehensible views.”
“Schmitt is an outsider trying to assert a constitutional right that simply does not exist: a right to show videos to prisoners,” wrote Elliot.
“Had the government or a hypothetical prisoner saw fit to challenge the DOC’s policies here, this Court would have a very different case before it. As it stands, however, the wrong party—an outsider to the prison—is before the Court and his claims can be easily dismissed …”
FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor said in a statement released Thursday that she believes “Schmitt’s religious bigotry supplies no rehabilitative value to the most vulnerable in our society.”
“Bigoted religious polemics and proselytization should not be allowed in our prisons under the phony cover of ‘rehabilitation,’” Gaylor continued.
From 2012 until 2023, Schmitt and his colleague, Bruce Robinson, held a class for male prisoners at the St. Cloud facility titled “The Quest for Authentic Manhood.”
In July of last year, however, Schmitt received an email from Minnesota Department of Corrections Assistant Commissioner Jolene Rebertus saying that he could no longer teach the course because of its content.
Of particular concern was the program’s complementarian views on the roles of men and women, with husbands portrayed as heads of the household while wives were to be submissive.
Schmitt filed a lawsuit in January against Rebertus and MDOC Commissioner Paul Schnell in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, accusing them of religious discrimination.
Schmitt argued in a statement released in January that his ministry program is voluntary and has had a positive impact on more than 1,000 male inmates who have participated.
“I have seen countless powerful testimonies and tears shed over the last decade because of the tremendous positive impact this program has had on inmates’ lives,” stated Schmitt.
“I was shocked and dismayed when the DOC suddenly canceled us, and I just want to be able to minister to these men, who so desperately need support and rehabilitation.”
In August, U.S. District Judge John Tunheim ruled against Schmitt, writing that “Rebertus reached a rational conclusion that the gender-based stereotypes Schmitt taught in Quest undermined accountability and rehabilitation, particularly for those inmates whose crimes or backgrounds involved gender-based violence.”
Tunheim also concluded that Schmitt had “alternative means” to convey his theological views to inmates, including doing such “individually through the normal visitation process.”
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