RALEIGH, N.C. — The North Carolina prison system must recognize humanism as a faith group and allow its adherents behind bars to meet and study their beliefs, a federal judge has ruled in an order released Thursday. The American Humanist Association and a North Carolina inmate serving a life sentence for murder sued state Department of Public Safety officials in 2015. Federal prisons began recognizing humanism as a faith group in 2015 after similar litigation was filed. But Boyle’s order noted that there were no written standards in that department designed to define what comprises a faith group. The committee, however, did allow Teague to study humanism on his own and receive pastoral visits.

Source: National Post March 29, 2018 23:12 UTC