The Prison System Chose My Religion for Me | Sojourners
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The Prison System Chose My Religion for Me

By Kwaneta Harris
Amanda Johnson, 31, (L) holds hands with her son Mack Darbey, 10, of Sacramento at California Institute for Women state prison in Chino, California May 5, 2012. An annual Mother's Day event, Get On The Bus, brings children in California to visit their mothers in prison. Sixty percent of parents in state prison report being held over 100 miles (161 km) from their children. Picture taken May 5, 2012 REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
Apr 23, 2025
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At Lane Murray, where I’m incarcerated, a bureaucratic rule creates a peculiar dilemma for someone like me who finds truth and solace in both Christianity and Buddhism. The prison system demands I choose just one, but my soul refuses to be so neatly categorized. We’re also only allowed to change our religious affiliation once every six months. As if divine inspiration could ever follow an administrative calendar.

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Amanda Johnson, 31, (L) holds hands with her son Mack Darbey, 10, of Sacramento at California Institute for Women state prison in Chino, California May 5, 2012. An annual Mother's Day event, Get On The Bus, brings children in California to visit their mothers in prison. Sixty percent of parents in state prison report being held over 100 miles (161 km) from their children. Picture taken May 5, 2012 REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson