A Maryland county and a prison ministry have agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by a Muslim man who was barred from applying for a jail chaplain position because he was not Christian.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) announced on Wednesday that Prince George’s County and Prison Ministry of America will pay $195,000 (£141,862) to Edrees Bridges, who sued in 2021 after learning that chaplain supervisors were required to be Christian.
Bridges previously served as a volunteer chaplain at the Prince George’s County Jail, and the settlement agreement has allowed him to continue volunteering as a jail chaplain.
Also, the ministry has agreed to stop using religious tests for paid chaplains moving forward said CAIR.
“Prison Ministry of America shall not use the Statement of Applicant’s Christian Faith, or any similar Statement of Faith,” for chaplain positions under exclusive government contracts," according to the agreement filed in US District Court in Maryland.
“The First Amendment protects all of us,” said John Fossum, a staff attorney with the CAIR Legal Defense Fund.
Bridges, who is an Imam has a Master of Divinity degree focused on chaplaincy.
In 2021, the Maryland National Guard listed the Imam as a first lieutenant and the first Muslim chaplain in the organisation’s history. Also, in 2024 the Office of the Chaplain for the US House of Representatives said Bridges offered the opening prayer to begin a legislative session.
His attorneys argued the Christian faith requirement violated the Constitution because the chaplain supervisor role served inmates of all religions.
Mirriam Seddiq from Seddiq Law in Maryland, who represented Bridges said: “He was highly educated, deeply experienced and perfectly suited for the job.”
“A requirement of Christian faith for a position that serves no particular religion is a discriminatory religious test," she added.
Bridge revealed he was inspired to go into chaplaincy after an encounter he had with one, while serving with the US Capitol Police.
He said: “At that moment, it did something to me where I said, ‘This is what I want to do.’ You know, we call it silence, but we are always hearing things. We’re always communicating. And I think it was that voice within, that voice of guidance that was driving me to where I need to be.”
Bridges added he was initially surprised to learn chaplaincy is not about promoting spirituality or winning converts, later saying “Chaplaincy is about looking within".