Michigan Prisons Must Recognize ‘Explicitly Racist’ Religion

The Michigan Department of Corrections must recognize Christian Identity, an “explicitly racist” and anti-Semitic religion, a federal appeals court said.

Christian Identity is a theology that says White people are favored by the God in the Bible and that people of color are inferior and soulless, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The department argued that it couldn’t stop non-White inmates from attending Christian Identity services in bad faith, so recognizing it could increase the risk of violence by stoking racial tension.

The department had to show that its refusal to recognize Christian Identity furthered a compelling governmental interest ...