An Arizona Prison Forcibly Shaved a Sikh Man’s Beard. This is a Violation of Religious Freedom.
Until last year, Surjit Singh’s beard had never been trimmed or cut. A devout Sikh, Mr. Singh believes that hair is a divine gift and removing it from the body dishonors God. But in a shocking incident last August, correctional officers processing Mr. Singh’s intake at an Arizona prison restrained him and shaved off his beard entirely despite his protests that it would violate his deeply held religious beliefs and despite the fact that federal law protects incarcerated individuals’ ability to exercise their faith. Today, along with the ACLU of Arizona, the Sikh Coalition, and the law firm WilmerHale, we filed a complaint with the Department of Justice, urging the department to investigate the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry (ADCRR) for its egregious infringement of Mr. Singh’s religious freedom rights.
When Mr. Singh entered an ADCRR facility last year, prison officials trampled his religious beliefs at every turn. First, they confiscated his turban, only providing him with a replacement months later after his attorneys arranged for material to be sent to him. Then, claiming they needed a beardless identification photo, correctional officers handcuffed Mr. Singh to a chair and forcibly shaved him, even as he cried that he would rather have his throat cut than his beard. And after his beard grew back beyond the one-inch permitted under prison rules, officials continued to harass him by threatening to shave him again. They did not relent until Mr. Singh’s legal team intervened.
Maintaining body hair unshorn is a common Sikh practice — an article of faith known as kesh. In addition to his long hair tied under a turban, Mr. Singh’s beard signifies his commitment to the Sikh religion, especially the faith’s highest ideals of love and service to humanity. The Rehat Maryada, an important religious text, explicitly forbids cutting or shaving any body hair for initiated Sikhs. Nevertheless, no one let Mr. Singh apply for a religious accommodation to avoid being shaved.
In fact, there appears to be no process in place for people incarcerated in Arizona prisons to seek a religious exemption from the rules governing beards, even though many prison systems across the country, including the federal Bureau of Prisons, permit incarcerated people to wear beards of any length. There is no reason that the ADCRR can’t do the same. Moreover, the ADCRR rule that incarcerated people be clean-shaven in identification photos already exempts individuals who suffer from certain skin conditions that are aggravated by shaving. At a minimum, granting Mr. Singh a similar exemption at intake would not have caused any harm, especially because — thanks to advances in computer technology — a computer-generated image could have provided the ADCRR with a clean-shaven photo.
The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), a federal law enacted in 2000, provides heightened protections for incarcerated individuals’ religious exercise precisely because they are more vulnerable to unfair and unnecessary restrictions on their religious practices. In this situation, RLUIPA required prison officials to give Mr. Singh a religious accommodation during intake so that he could continue practicing his faith uninterrupted.
Sikh adherents are not, of course, the only incarcerated individuals facing restrictions on their religious grooming practices. For example, staff at one Virginia state prison have reportedly demanded that one incarcerated Muslim man “.” In Colorado, a correctional officer ordered another incarcerated Muslim man to shave off his beard during intake or be As with Mr. Singh, these restrictions violate incarcerated individuals’ fundamental religious freedom rights.
Ultimately, after significant pressure from Mr. Singh’s legal team, the ADCRR granted him a permanent religious accommodation for his beard. However, officials denied the appalling nature of their earlier conduct, downplaying what happened to Mr. Singh as a mere “miscommunication.” More importantly, they refused to adopt policies to ensure that others incarcerated within the ADCRR would not be similarly mistreated and would have the opportunity to request a religious accommodation instead of being forcibly shaved.
That’s simply not good enough. The ADCRR has an affirmative legal obligation to protect individuals’ ability to practice their faith while incarcerated. It has failed to live up to that responsibility. We hope that, in investigating Mr. Singh’s traumatic experience, the DOJ will take whatever measures are necessary to force the ADCRR to enact systemic change, comply with the law, and respect incarcerated individuals’ religious liberty.
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ACLU Statement on New White House Strategy to Counter IslamophobiaACLU Statement on New White House Strategy to Counter Islamophobia
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Press ReleaseNov 2024
Religious Liberty
Civil Liberties Organizations Unite to Oppose Oklahoma Education Superintendent Ryan Walters’ Latest Push for Religion in Public SchoolsCivil Liberties Organizations Unite to Oppose Oklahoma Education Superintendent Ryan Walters’ Latest Push for Religion in Public Schools
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Press ReleaseNov 2024
Religious Liberty
Court Blocks Louisiana Law Requiring Public Schools to Display Ten Commandments in Every ClassroomCourt Blocks Louisiana Law Requiring Public Schools to Display Ten Commandments in Every Classroom
BATON ROUGE, LA – In a victory for religious freedom, a federal district court issued a preliminary injunction today in Rev. Roake v. Brumley, prohibiting implementation of a Louisiana law that requires all public schools to permanently display a government-approved, Protestant version of the Ten Commandments in every classroom. In the ruling, Judge John W. DeGravelles determined that Louisiana’s H.B. 71, enacted last June, violates the First Amendment and longstanding Supreme Court precedent. More than 40 years ago, in Stone v. Graham, the Supreme Court overturned a similar state statute, holding that the First Amendment bars public schools from posting such displays. The defendants conceded during oral argument that Stone remains good law and is binding on lower courts. In his 177-page opinion, the judge explained: [T]hese displays must be posted in every “classroom in each school,” all year round, regardless of subject matter, and regardless of the age of the student. Thus, the question is not whether the Biblical laws can ever be put on a poster; the issue is whether, as a matter of law, there is any constitutional way to display the Ten Commandments in accordance with the minimum requirements of the Act. In short, the Court finds that there is not. First, Stone remains good law and is directly on point, and this Court is bound to follow it. Second, even putting Stone aside . . . , Plaintiffs have adequately alleged that H.B. 71 fails to comply with the Establishment Clause analysis laid out in Kennedy and Fifth Circuit precedent. Judge DeGravelles also recognized that H.B. 71 would lead to unconstitutional religious coercion of the children-plaintiffs in the case by imposing religious doctrine on them for nearly every hour of the school day, throughout their entire public-school education. And, pointing to the testimony of plaintiffs’ expert, Dr. Steven K. Green, the court found that there is no historical support for permanently displaying the Ten Commandments in public-school classrooms and that doing so would be at odds with our nation’s Founders’ understanding of the separation of church and state. The court’s opinion concludes: Each of the Plaintiffs’ minor children will be forced “in every practical sense,” through Louisiana’s required attendance policy, to be a “captive audience” and to participate in a religious exercise: reading and considering a specific version of the Ten Commandments, one posted in every single classroom, for the entire school year, regardless of the age of the student or subject matter of the course. And, despite the differences among the Plaintiffs’ religious beliefs (be they Unitarian Universalist, Reform Jewish, Presbyterian, or atheist/agnostic), the common threads are (1) that the required posting of the Decalogue conflicts with specific parts of their faith, and (2) that one of those articles of faith, shared by nearly all Plaintiff parents, is raising their children in accordance with their own beliefs and values. Considering the totality of the circumstances, the Court finds that the Act and its requirements are coercive and inconsistent with the history of First Amendment and public education. The court further ruled that H.B. 71 also violates the plaintiffs’ rights under the Free Exercise Clause. After finding that the law violates the plaintiffs’ constitutional rights, the court prohibited the defendants from “(1) enforcing H.B. 71; (2) adopting rules or regulations for the enforcement of H.B. 71; and (3) requiring that the Ten Commandments be posted in every public-school classroom in Louisiana in accordance with H.B. 71.” The Court additionally directed the state defendants to provide notice of its order and H.B. 71’s unconstitutionality to all Louisiana public elementary, secondary, and charter schools, and all public post-secondary education institutions. Because the court denied the defendants’ request to pause (or “stay”) the preliminary injunction while they seek relief from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, it immediately takes effect. “H.B. 71 is a direct infringement of our religious-freedom rights, and we’re pleased and relieved that the court ruled in our favor,” said Rev. Darcy Roake, who is a plaintiff in the case along with her husband, Adrian Van Young. “As an interfaith family, we expect our children to receive their secular education in public school and their religious education at home and within our faith communities, not from government officials.” “This ruling should serve as a reality check for Louisiana lawmakers who want to use public schools to convert children to their preferred brand of Christianity,” said Heather L. Weaver, Senior Staff Attorney for the ACLU’s Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. “Public schools are not Sunday schools, and today’s decision ensures that our clients’ classrooms will remain spaces where all students, regardless of their faith, feel welcomed.” “We are pleased that the First Amendment rights of students and families are protected by this vital court decision,” said Patrick Elliott, Legal Director of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. “This ruling will ensure that Louisiana families – not politicians or public school officials – get to decide if, when and how their children engage with religion,” said Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. “It should send a strong message to Christian Nationalists across the country that they cannot impose their beliefs on our nation’s public school children. Not on our watch.” “Religious freedom—the right to choose one’s faith without pressure—is essential to American democracy,” said Alanah Odoms, Executive Director of the ACLU of Louisiana. “Today’s ruling ensures that the schools our plaintiff’s children attend will stay focused on learning, without promoting a state-preferred version of Christianity.” Jon Youngwood, Co-Chair of Simpson Thacher’s Litigation Department, added, “We are heartened by the District Court’s well-reasoned and detailed opinion, which rests upon the wisdom of the First Amendment to the Constitution and the protections it affords regarding the separation of church and state and the free exercise of religion.” Represented by the ACLU, ACLU of Louisiana, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation, with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP serving as pro bono counsel, the plaintiffs in Roake v. Brumley are a multifaith group of nine Louisiana families with children in public schools. Today’s opinion, issued by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana, is available online here: https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2024/11/LA-10c-Opinion.pdf