Supreme Court upholds religious rights of prisoners

c. 2014 USA Today

WASHINGTON (RNS) A Supreme Court that has extended the reach of religion into public life in recent years ruled Tuesday (January 20) that spirituality can overcome even prison security concerns.

The court came down decisively on the side of a Muslim prisoner whose beard had been deemed potentially dangerous by Arkansas prison officials. Growing a beard, the justices said, was a Muslim man’s religious right.