Sent to Atheist Republic by Christin in March, 2015:

My brother has been incarcerated for the last 18 years. These final two years will have been spent at the Vance Unit, which is an Evangelical Christian program. The program is not state funded, but in order to be released, it is vital that prisoners participate.

My brother is an atheist; in fact, he inspired me to read The God Delusion, and The Selfish Gene, and other similar books several years ago. He recently explained this group to me,

"You can believe what you want, but if you don't believe in God, you will be completely alone. You will be set apart, and you will not reap the benefits of a person that follows the program specifically. If you follow the plan, you can get a job through them, which you would be much less likely to accommodate on your own. They have already offered me jobs playing the piano at their churches when I leave."

I went to a service just so I could hear him play the piano with the congregation, and then I was subjected to "group discussions" in which people had to talk about why "the church" was so important.

A prisoner’s support after release should not depend on their involvement in religion. People should not have to lie about what they believe in order to get the support they need, they’re not even given the choice.

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