Revolution #183, November 15, 2009
Recruiting for Christian Fascism—Inside the Prisons
Prison authorities push the Bible and in particular virulently fascist fundamentalist Christian cults inside the prisons. Corrections Corporation of America, the nation’s largest private prison operator, is currently in the process of placing Christian fascist programming from Pat Robertson’s Trinity Broadcast Network into all 65 of its state, federal and juvenile facilities in nineteen states and the District of Columbia. Beyond that, there are now special prisons, or prison wings, for Christian fundamentalists. Former Nixon crony Chuck Colson did time after pleading guilty to felony obstruction of justice for his attempts to smear Pentagon Papers defendant and anti-war activist Daniel Ellsberg. Today Colson is a reactionary Christian fundamentalist who sets up “faith-based prisons.” And Christian fundamentalist groups run some of the few programs for re-integrating prisoners into society on their release. Through the widespread promotion of Christian fundamentalism (in blatant contradiction to the supposed separation of church and state), prison systems program captives to blame themselves (and other prisoners) for their conditions, and enlist as “Christian soldiers”—both in prison and when they get out in service of a Christian fascist movement being unleashed in society as a whole.
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