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10 June 2004
10 June 200410:37 am: How to lead The Purpose-Driven Life behind bars: John Leland reports in the NYTimes on the California prison system's adoption of the bestselling evangelical how-to guide. Leland sidesteps the predictable faultline for such stories (church v. state, which isn't as relevant in this case, since California provides plenty of similar secular programs), but doesn't fill in the missing space with much else. Randall Balmer, Barry Lynn, and a parade of other "experts" trundle through the story to little effect. The program -- and Purpose author Rick Warren's brand of pop evangelism -- are evaluated purely for their effectiveness, revealing a religious bias of mainstream media at odds with its "anti-religion" reputation. The Times, it seems, implicitly approves of religion that "works" -- i.e., makes bad men docile. Martin Luther himself -- terrified of the pitchfork-toting Protestant masses he inspired -- could have written this treatise on the purpose of prison.
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