Religion at Eastern

As I said earlier there are 13 different religions that are recognized at Eastern. Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism are 4 of the most common ones. There are also people identify as Wiccan, Rastafarian, and followers of Azatru. Someone told me Azatru is a religion originating from the Nordic region. It's interesting to me that there are so many religions practiced there. I believe the facility is required to provide space for each religion whether that means providing a scheduled prayer time for certain followers or establishing a sacred ground, such as the Native American sacred ground area in one of the prison courtyards. The prison is also required to let each group recognize the holidays of its particular faith.

There is one chaplain for the entire prisoner and I was talking to him the other day. He is a Christian and a pastor at a local church. I asked him how he feels about being a Christian but also being in a position where he is required to recognize all these other religions. He told me, "if recognizing these other religions is what I have to do in order to have a position here with an open door where there is the opportunity to talk to an inmate about Jesus, than it's worth it." I thought those were very wise words. And I think it shows how he balances his position as a religious counselor in the prison with his personal beliefs. He's not one before the other, but both.

In other news, the C.O. that reprimanded me for my clothing last Thursday apologized to me today. I told her I accepted her apology. I didn't know what else to say because before I said anything I was thinking about if I should say something, if I should ignore her, or if I should consider her sincerity before accepting her words. However, Jesus made me realize the important thing was to accept the apology and that's what I did (thank goodness) before any of my sinful nature got in the way.