The Circle towers are not intended as mage prisons, those are- another matter entirely.
*sigh*
That cuts to the heart of what I intended to say. If a people have never heard the Chant, have never had the opportunity to learn anything of the Maker, how can they be expected to follow the laws and customs of the devout? This is why we recite the Chant, to teach all of Thedas the example of Andraste. I do not expect that a person can be called apostate, truly, until they understand the consequences of their actions.