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Showing Original Post only (View all)Only Christians could apply for jail chaplain job in Prince George's County, federal lawsuit says [View all]
Source: Associated Press, via the Baltimore Sun
Only Christians could apply for jail chaplain job in Prince Georges County, federal lawsuit says
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS | MAY 28, 2021 AT 1:27 AM
COLLEGE PARK Applicants for a chaplains job at a Maryland county jail had to sign a statement affirming that they are Christians, a Muslim man claimed Thursday in a federal lawsuit accusing the county and a contractor of religious discrimination.
Lawyers from the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights group, sued Prince Georges County on behalf of Edrees Bridges, who has been a volunteer chaplain at a county jail in Upper Marlboro since 2018.
Bridges, 49, learned in April that the county was hiring a paid chaplain. He asked for an application but couldnt complete it because all applicants were required to sign a Statement of Applicants Christian Faith that would force him to abandon his religious beliefs as a Muslim, his lawsuit says.
Prison Ministry of America, which also is named as a defendant in the suit, has a contract with the county to provide religious services to jail inmates. The statement on its job application says Prison Ministry of America employees are committed to a lifestyle of Christianity and agree with our statement of faith. ... It also asks applicants to affirm that they believe in one God, Creator and Lord of the Universe, that Jesus Christ, Gods Son, was conceived by the Holy Spirit and that the Bible is Gods authoritative and inspired Word.
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Read more: https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/bs-md-jail-chaplain-suit-religion-20210528-zugwwdohwjgd7mg5vabbaegfs4-story.html
Hat tip, WTOP