The current case before the Supremes on religious practice among prison inmates is an interestingly mixed-up bunch of interests.

The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 requires states that receive federal money to allow prisoners to practice their religions unless the government can show some compelling reason (of, say, safety) to constrain that religious practice. Now, on the surface, this seems like a law that grants to those with some religion “a right that no atheist or agnostic can enjoy” — as Justice Stevens put it in striking down the earlier “Religious Freedoms Restoration Act”.

As is typical, nobody much gives a shit about that, though. But what they do give a shit about is when “non-standard” religions want equal consideration along with the big monotheisms. So, in the current case in Ohio, some prisoners — including a Wiccan and a Satanist — claimed that they were denied access to “religious literature, ceremonial items and time to worship”. Ohio didn’t want to accommodate this (even though they hadn’t minded when it was Xian bible study) and argued that “although intended to protect the rights of prisoners, the law amounts to an unconstitutional government promotion of religion” — getting it right, but for the wrong reason.

But then, what’s new about that? The J-People are always trying to tear down the wall of separation, and often the only way to get them to back off is to show them how the non-Xians get the goods too — and they surely didn’t really want that.

But now, for consistency, we have the Bush/Gonzales DoJ arguing on the side of the Satanists. Which, however this turns out, makes it all kind of worth it. I mean, I know politics make strange bedfellows, but even I couldn’t dare to hope that they could turn the Bush/Gonzales DoJ into the punk ho of some Wiccans and Satanists.

Here’s a bunch of news coverage.