Equal Rights, Sacred Rites: Religious Accommodations for Incarcerated Muslims in New Jersey State Prisons

Abstract

Background Religious freedom is a fundamental right enshrined in the Constitution’s First Amendment. However, this indispensable right has not always been equally extended to all faiths or to all sectors of society. Incarcerated people have historically faced hurdles in obtaining their most basic religious accommodations. These obstacles have been shown to violate RLUIPA, the federal law in place that reiterates the US’s commitment to religious freedom for all. Estimates suggest that at least 1 in 10 people in prison are Muslim, compared 1 one in 100 people in the general population. The prison system may bear the most significant proportion of Muslims relative to any other institution in the nation. It is, as such, crucial to ensure that Muslims in prison receive their constitutionally protected, and statutorily reiterated, rights to religious practice. Objectives Of particular interest to this thesis are the religious accommodations afforded to incarcerated Muslims in New Jersey (NJ) state prisons. In particular, this thesis aims to address (a) whether there is a gap between the established best practices in place for the religious accommodation of Muslims in prison and those offered in NJ state prisons, and (b) which factors influence the scope and quality of services provided. Ultimately, this thesis offers a set of policy recommendations to the New Jersey Department of Corrections (NJDOC) which seeks to elevate its religious accommodations for its incarcerated Muslim population to reflect established best practices. Methods This study relied on three primary data sources. The first is longitudinal data on religious grievances filed across seven state prisons from 2020-2022, which is used to describe the nature of religious grievances in New Jersey state prisons from 2020-2022, highlighting emerging themes. The second is consolidated information on the nationwide best practices for accommodating incarcerated Muslims’ religious practices as well as data on the NJDOC’s stated policies. Finally, the last source was 16 semi-structured, in-depth interviews conducted with every relevant institutional chaplain as well as six currently/formerly incarcerated persons. Results The study showed that while the NJDOC mostly offered prison-based religious accommodations for its incarcerated Muslim population that are on par with established best practices, there are significant shortcomings in its dietary and funerary policies as well as discrepancies in its policies on religious garments. Moreover, the interviews revealed discrepancies in the implementation of the NJDOC’s stated policies at different facilities. Several factors were cited in influencing the quality and scope of services provided, including hostile dynamics between correctional officers and the incarcerated Muslim population. Conclusions My hypothesis was that despite the severe overrepresentation of Muslims in NJ state prisons, there would be a notable gap between the best practices established nationwide and the actual services offered in NJ State prisons. I ultimately found that while gaps exist, in certain facilities more so than others, they are not as significant as hypothesized. Nonetheless, important areas of improvement emerged throughout the study. As such, this thesis concludes with a set of policy recommendations to the NJDOC which seek to ensure that incarcerated Muslims are able to practice their religion freely in NJ state prisons.