A Wisconsin-based atheist organization is once again opposing inmate baptisms in Arkansas.
Earlier this month, the Freedom From Religion Foundation sent a letter to Drew County Sheriff Tim Nichols complaining about inmate baptisms after Sheriff Nichols posted on the Drew County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page about 13 inmates who were baptized at Pauline Baptist Church in March.
All told, 27 inmates at the Drew County Detention Facility reportedly have been baptized since 2023.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation’s letter accused the sheriff of “unconstitutionally encouraging or coercing inmates to participate in religious exercise.”
This is not the first time the FFRF has targeted an Arkansas sheriff over inmate baptisms. In 2023, the group sent a similar complaint to the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office after inmates there were baptized in partnership with a local church.
The FFRF’s argument is the same one it always makes — that any visible expression of faith by a government official amounts to a constitutional violation. But that argument goes too far.
Nothing in the Constitution requires public officials to hide their faith or strip religious programming from county jails. Inmates are free to participate or not participate in religious activity. And there is a real difference between a government forcing someone to practice a religion and a sheriff who personally believes in God and wants to see the people find hope and redemption.
It’s also worth noting that groups like the Freedom From Religion Foundation tend to threaten lawsuits. If people stand their ground, these organizations rarely follow through.
Religious freedom is a fundamental right in America, and groups like the Freedom From Religion Foundation ironically infringe that liberty when they work to purge the free exercise of religion from public life.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
