Buddhist Inmate Wins Religious Lawsuit

May 10, 2009

Author: Charlie Butts

Source: OneNewsNow

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Legal/Default.aspx?id=520928

A Buddhist prison inmate in Texas has won a lawsuit over rules for religious practice.

The prison system requires religious services to be performed by a chaplain or approved religious volunteers. Muslims were allowed to hold religious meetings, but chaplains had declined to lead Buddhist services because of lack of knowledge or because it conflicts with their own beliefs, according to Kelly Shackleford, chief counsel of Liberty Legal Institute.

A federal appeals court stands by the Buddhist inmate.

"Basically what the court said is, 'Look, you've got to give people the same rights' -- that you can't say that there are some faiths that have a right to meet together and pray together and other faiths don't have that right," he notes.