LANSING, Mich. — The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion Monday directing the Michigan prison system to officially identify Christian Identity as a religion.
Their opinion comes after two current inmates sued the Michigan Department of Corrections for denying their religious affiliation, citing the faith's historic connections to racist and violent ideologies.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, "Christian Identity is an antisemitic, racist theology that rose to a position of commanding influence on the racist right in the 1980s. 'Christian' in name only, it asserts that white people, not Jewish people, are the true Israelites favored by God in the Bible."
The case was brought by inmates James Fox and Scott Perreault, with the initial lawsuit being filed back in 2013.
Prison officials would not recognize Christian Identity officially, meaning the inmates designating themselves under that faith were not entitled to group worship or special dietary options.
"If something is deemed a legitimate religion, entity, then any action taken by the government against that religion must survive what we call a strict scrutiny analysis," attorney Sarissa K. Montague explained to FOX 17.
That means that if the government wants to restrict inmates access to religious freedoms, they must show that they did so in the least intrusive manner possible.
"Essentially, the MDOC took an all or nothing approach... They basically said we find this religion to be very dangerous, and they didn't present any options for allowing that religion to conduct its services," Montague said Wednesday.
"They simply said, 'you can't do anything,' and the courts found that you can't do that. You have to provide, or at least give reasons, for why do you think that these actions shouldn't be permitted."
The Sixth Circuit Court heard oral arguments back in April.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs claimed that the men would not try and prohibit non-white inmates from coming to their group worship sessions.
An attorney for the government told the judge panel, "the two plaintiffs don't speak for the entire religion, and the historical impact of the religion in this country, but secondly, and more importantly, that position forces the MDOC to close the barn door after the horses have already gotten out".
While the Sixth Circuit Court found in favor of the inmates, the MDOC is still able to appeal the case up to the U.S. Supreme Court.
If the Supreme Court decides not to hear the case, the Sixth Circuit opinion will become state law.
