Rev FRED DAVIE and Rev SERENE JONES, of Union Theological Seminary in the US, say – in an article first published on Religion News Service, that faith leaders and people of faith are among the best-positioned to mount a powerful countermovement – and should make every effort to do so…
United States
RNS
President Donald Trump has suggested he wants to throw more people behind bars and keep them there for longer.
Earlier this month, he tweeted, “For too long, America has been plagued by vicious, violent, and repeat Criminal Offenders, the dregs of society, who will never contribute anything other than Misery and Suffering.” He then directed federal officials to enlarge and rebuild Alcatraz, a notorious prison that closed more than six decades ago.
Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco which US President Donald Trump has ordered reopened. PICTURE: Aldric RIVAT/Unsplash
Before that, in a meeting with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, Trump gloated about his plan to deport American citizens who committed crimes. He told Bukele, “You gotta build about five more places” to imprison them.
“This pro-prison crusade is nothing short of horrifying. As theologians, we believe it contradicts our core values of forgiveness and protection of marginalised people. As leaders of a seminary that runs a program to reintegrate incarcerated people into society, we also believe that it undermines our deeply rooted belief in the power of change.”
This pro-prison crusade is nothing short of horrifying. As theologians, we believe it contradicts our core values of forgiveness and protection of marginalised people. As leaders of a seminary that runs a program to reintegrate incarcerated people into society, we also believe that it undermines our deeply rooted belief in the power of change. And as community members, we are keenly aware that the best solutions for crime lie in collaboration and support – not demonising people, locking them up and tearing families apart.
Every American should be outraged by a new era of mass incarceration. But faith leaders and people of faith are among the best-positioned to mount a powerful countermovement. They should make every effort to do so.
Virtually every religious tradition includes two core principles: universal love and care for the most vulnerable. Applied to our criminal justice system, that means creating structures that treat people with integrity and empower their capacity to thrive.
In Christianity, the religion we practice, several Bible passages explicitly support incarcerated people. In Matthew 25:36, Jesus shares the actions that are revered by God: “I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.” Isaiah 61:1-3 proclaims, “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners…” Hebrews 13:3 declares, “Remember those in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.”
Troves of Bible passages also speak to the power of love and mercy. God calls upon people to have mercy for the poor and vulnerable, not to punish them.
Faith leaders have long been at the front lines of efforts to reform our criminal justice system. They’ve driven massive movements to end the death penalty, reduce extreme sentences, provide faith services to people in prison and more.
But crucially, these efforts aren’t just about faith. They’re also about making communities safer. Decades of research show that imprisoning more people does not reduce crime. On the contrary, it traps poor and marginalised people in a cycle of desperation. Collaborative community programs, however, have a stronger positive approach.
Consider the work of the Boston TenPoint Coalition, an unprecedented effort that began in the 1990s. Amid a rise in youth violence in Boston, clergy and lay leaders came together to develop ways to redirect vulnerable youth away from behaviours that may lead to violence, drug abuse and imprisonment. Now, with community organisations, government leaders and private sector institutions, they connect young people with supportive programs, mentoring, mediation and more. Since its founding, their model has been replicated across the nation.
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And one of us, Rev Fred Davie, has led Ready4Work – an effort to bring faith-based and community groups together to help formerly incarcerated people find and retain employment. In 2007, he visited the Bush White House to share findings from the project. Through job-readiness training, mentorship and ongoing support, the program was able to help many incarcerated people find and maintain employment. In its first three years, Ready4Work participants had a 45 per cent lower rate of recidivism after six months than Justice Department benchmarks.
Now, we both lead Union Theological Seminary, which is home to the Master of Professional Studies program – a landmark initiative by New York Theological Seminary. It offers incarcerated people in New York the chance to earn a master’s degree through rigorous study of theology, ministry, pastoral care and social justice leadership. Since its inception, the program has graduated hundreds of students – and statistically has slashed the likelihood of recidivism for those who take part.
We understand the need for correctional facilities. But they should be just that: opportunities for correction and rehabilitation. Unfortunately, power-hungry leaders are pushing us to ignore all research and progress – and supercharge mass incarceration. Spiritually, ethically and strategically, that’s the wrong approach. Faith leaders and people of faith have a duty to step up and stop this scourge.
Rev Fred Davie is senior executive vice president for public theology and civic engagement at Union Theological Seminary, and Rev Serene Jones is president of Union, where faith, spirituality and scholarship meet to reimagine the work of justice. Davie supervised a national reentry demonstration project for the formerly incarcerated while senior executive vice president at Public/Private Ventures and supported alternative to incarceration initiatives as a program executive with the Ford Foundation.
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