Religious Services

The Department of Corrections (DOC) acknowledges the inherent and constitutionally protected rights of those incarcerated to believe, express, and exercise the religion of their choice.

• About Religious Services
• Marriages & Domestic Partnerships
• Religious, Spiritual & Cultural Programs
• Resources

About Religious Services

Religious programs will promote positive values and moral practices to foster healthy relationships, especially within their own families and the communities to which they are returning.

DOC 560.200 Religious Programs also states that the Department :

• Will provide religious as well as cultural opportunities incarcerated individuals within available resources, while maintaining facility security, safety, health, and orderly operations.
• Will not endorse any religious faith or cultural group and will ensure that religious programming is consistent with the provisions of federal and state statutes.
• Recognizes that many religions incorporate religious, traditional, and cultural practices. The Department offers cultural/diversity and religious faith incarcerated individual groups the opportunity to celebrate events.

Additionally, the Department will consult with a diverse group of religious/faith/cultural group authorities with knowledge of corrections to inform and advise on Department policy and practice, assist in developing and reviewing religious programming, review concerns and unsolved grievances, and assist in recruiting religious volunteers and in developing resource support.

Proselytizing (Attempts to Convert)

Per DOC 560.200 Religious Programs, employees, volunteers, program providers, and those under Department jurisdiction may not persist in religious conversations with any person who has stated they do not desire to engage in such conversations. Unwanted or forceful attempts to persuade a person to convert to another's religious/cultural belief and/or ridiculing the religious or cultural beliefs of others within any Department facility are prohibited.

Nothing in this provision will prohibit the sharing of information regarding a person's religious belief.