LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY friarjohn)

September 10, 2007
Prisons Purging Books on Faith From Libraries
By LAURIE GOODSTEIN

Behind the walls of federal prisons nationwide, chaplains have been
quietly carrying out a systematic purge of religious books and
materials that were once available to prisoners in chapel libraries.
( Read more... )

I post this here due to the interesting cuts. Barth, Niebuhr and Dulles are three theologians who run against the grain of the American Right's take on things. Not only do the first two consider Fundamentalism to be a heresy but they also are notorious for their utter rejection of "Christian" nationhood. The Culture Protestimus of the 19th century liberal theologians (an idea which the Dommies rely upon) is utterly rejected in these two. Both were also Socialists (The local communists called Barth "comrade Pastor" and Niebuhr was derisively referred to as "The Red Pastor" in the Chicago papers) and were highly critical of unrestrained Capitalism. Both were also highly intolerant of those who subordinate the Church to the State, in that ministers should never have to ask for approval for there sermons or preach at the command of the State. Dulles has also repeatedly written about how the Roman Catholic moral teachings essentially make Capital punishment as much a sin as abortion, a POV that is very unpopular with American Catholics of a certain stripe. Dulles was also one of the Catholic theologians who were dead set against the war in Iraq. This is a Dommie purge of the Prisons so that their prison ministries will have a freer hand. It also makes sure that only "safe" forms of other religions are represented. I can only imagine that the Bonheoffer allowed ISN'T his political or more academic stuff.
I also think it’s funny that an otherwise odious piece of Republican legislation is now coming back to bite the Administration in the butt