1. What is Religious and Spiritual ... - Organization of American States

[pic]
[pic] Last Updated: 2005-03-21
Note: The most up-to-date version of this manual resides on the network.
Individuals who choose to work with a paper copy of the manual
should verify that the printed version is consistent with the
electronic version on the network.
Manual on Religious and Spiritual Accommodation
Table of Contents CSC Preface 4
Interfaith Committee Preface 5 ~ INTRODUCTION ~ 6
SECTION I The Principles of Religious and Spiritual Accommodation 9
1. What is Religious and Spiritual Accommodation? 9
2. Legal Support: Mandate and Responsibility 9
3. Freedom of Religion in CSC Institutions 14
4. Freedom of conscience 15
5. Service-wide Responsibility to Accommodate 16
6. CSC 'Ownership' of the Manual 17
7. Guiding Principles 18
8. Contributors and Partners 22
9. Using This Manual 23
10. NHQ Contact Information 27
SECTION II ~ Common Issues ~ 28
Introduction 28
1. Affiliation / Membership / Certification 28
2. Beliefs and Practices 29
3. Birth 31
4. Cell Effects 32
5. Chaplaincy's Role 32
6. Confidentiality 33
7. Contacts and Services in the Community 34
8. Conversion and Initiation 35
9. Death of an Inmate 37
10. Religious Diets 38
11. Dress Requirements 40
12. Family and Parenting 40
13. Gang-related 'Religious' Activity 42
14. Gender Differences 43
15. Health and Illness 43
16. Holy Days and Holidays 44
17. Religious Law 45
18. Leadership and Accreditation 45
19. Marriage 46
20. Searches 48
21. Religious Symbols 49
22. Volunteers from Faith Groups 50
23. Worship 50
Appendix A - Entering OMS to View and Change Religious Affiliation 54
Appendix B - Memorandum of Understanding from Warkworth Institution
55
SECTION III ~ Specific Traditions ~ 56
Introduction 56
Aboriginal Spirituality 58
Buddhism 65
Christianity 80
Islam 103
Judaism 130
Paganism 141
Wicca 147
Rastafarianism 189 APPENDICES 204
Appendix I - Sensitivity Awareness Training and Learning Opportunities
205
Appendix II - Glossary 207
Appendix III - Human Rights 208
Appendix IV - Abbreviations 212 CSC Preface
This resource book gathers together information regarding the accommodation
of the religious and spiritual needs of the people serving federal
sentences, drawing on the experience and wisdom of both faith communities
of Canada and the Correctional Service of the Canadian population. It
reflects the increasing cultural and religious diversity of Canada and the
desire on the part of CSC to respect the rights of offenders to practise
their faith during their incarceration. Honouring the religious rights of incarcerated persons as guaranteed by the
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a challenge that is supported by
the Corrections and Conditional Release Act and the Corrections and
Conditional Release Regulations as well as the CSC Mission. It is our hope
that this Manual will serve as a working document to inform and guide
decisions at the local level. May the collaboration it encourages, as well as the respect for the
individual that it supports, help facilitate the growth of all those who
seek to remain faithful to their religious and spiritual beliefs and
practices. _______________________ _______________________ Terry Richardson Shereen Bensvy Miller
Director General, Director General,
Chaplaincy Rights, Redress and Resolution Interfaith Committee Preface
The Interfaith Committee on Chaplaincy in the Correctional Service of
Canada has been pleased to participate in the development of this valuable
resource. We discussed progress reports at our meetings and had occasion to ask
questions as the project unfolded. In addition we named a Sub-Committee to
advise the CSC's Chaplaincy Branch as it went about compiling information,
and a number of our members consulted directly on the sections related to
their respective faith communities. We acknowledge the challenge faced by a government body when it attempts to
produce a document containing religious "policy" in a society like Canada,
which so clearly separates "Church" and "State". We believe that the
approach taken in this Manual will enable people serving federal sentences
to practice their faith and spirituality to an acceptable level. It is our hope that access to spiritual and religious accommodation will
assist the people within the care and custody of the CSC to find the
healing and strength they need to make changes in their lives that will
lead them - and in turn our communities - to safer and more fulfilling
lives. __________________________ Garry Dombrosky
President,
Interfaith Committee on Chaplaincy in the Correctional Service of Canada
~ INTRODUCTION ~
Purpose This Manual has been designed to assist the Correctional Service of Canada
(CSC) to fulfil its legal responsibility to accommodate the spiritual and
religious needs of people in its care to the fullest extent possible. The
information presented here addresses questions regarding their spiritual
convictions or religious affiliation and attendant obligations that are
arising more and more frequently, and sometimes for the first time, in CSC
institutions. Correctional policy and practice are being challenged to
respond to this emerging trend. The Manual presents both the legal mandate and the policy that form the
framework within which broad guidelines and specific decisions can be
established. It also contains examples of religious accommodation requests
taken from case files and the Service's response to them. Overview[1] Section I looks in some detail at CSC's duty to accommodate the valid
religious and spiritual needs of the people in its care and the broader
context within which this duty is carried out. It presents information on
how questions of religious and spiritual accommodation should be approached
by CSC personnel. Section II outlines issues that are common to all traditions and for which
CSC has a common approach. Existing policy and current practice in
relation to each topic will be outlined and any present challenges to these
taken into account. Section III deals with obligations and prohibitions of a number of specific
traditions which represent the greatest number of federal inmates and/or
from which the greatest number of questions and complaints arise. The
information includes recommended approaches to accommodating their
respective needs within CSC institutions. There is also a section of appendices that provides a glossary, a list of
abbreviations and links to related resources. In order to make fully informed decisions, those referring to this Manual
will need to not only become familiar with the Guiding Principles (Section
I); they will also need to check the information on the issue in question
that applies to all religious and spiritual traditions (Section II). Only
then should they refer to the tradition they are inquiring about to
ascertain whether qualifiers specific to it exist (Section III).
Background ~ The Canadian Context Religious diversity within the Canadian population in general has been
expanding in the past few decades. While Census information tells us that
the fastest growing group consists of people claiming to have no
religion[2], immigration patterns show that Canada is welcoming an
increasing number of new citizens from non-European countries and countries
in which Christianity is not the predominant religion. As well, people
born in Canada are adopting a variety of beliefs and faith systems.
Although the majority of Canadians still claim to be Christians, they do so
within a pluralistic multifaith context requiring greater acceptance of
religious and spiritual differences and, ultimately, a better understanding
of each other's traditions. ~ The CSC population The population of people in the care and custody of CSC reflects the
changing trends of the make-up of Canadian society as a whole. At the same
time as faith groups and spiritual organisations have been diversifying in
the community, a number of their adherents find themselves under a federal
sentence and either housed in a CSC institution or living in the community
under one form or other of conditional release. In March 2003, the Offender Count by Religion showed the following levels
of representation within the offender population: | |All |Catholi|Protes-|Muslim |Jewish |Native |Buddhis|Sikh |
| |Religio|c |tant | | | |t | |
| |n | | | | |Spiritu| | |
| | | | | | |al | | |
|Institu|12,654 | 5,437| 2,759| 466| 79 | 480| 164| 50 |
|tion | | | | | | | | |
|Communi| 8,334| 3,883| 1,844| 238| 65 | 172| 183| 26 |
|ty | | | | | | | | |
|Nationa| | | | | | | | |
|l |20,988 |9,320 |4,039 |704 |144 |652 |347 |76 |
|Totals | | | | | |