A small, southern Alabama town called Bay Minette is giving non-violent offenders a choice: Go to jail or go to church. Those who choose a pew instead of a cell must join one of 56 participating congregations in the county, and check in with their pastor once a week. Civil liberties activists say this program violates the Constitution by essentially forcing people to attend church. Local preachers argue that it's not coercive, just effective. "You show me somebody who falls in love with Jesus," says pastor Robert Gates, "and I'll show you a person who won't be a problem to society."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Magazine printables - May 3, 2024Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - May 3, 2024
-
India elections start amid violence, hate speech accusationsTalking Points Narendra Modi seeks a third term while critics worry about the future of the country's democracy
-
'Biden is smart to keep the border-security pressure on'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescueSpeed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in MoroccoSpeed Read
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female presidentSpeed Read
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. saysSpeed Read
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprisingSpeed Read
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
