When looking at specific mentions of religious services as a rehabilitative program, facilities in Democrat-led states had more mentions than facilities in Republican-led states. Despite being mentioned 22 times by facilities in Democrat-led states, faith or denomination was rarely defined by the various institutions. The same is true of facilities in Republican-led states which mentioned religious services only 3 times.
Further, there was a difference in where information about religious services was listed on the websites. For facilities in Democrat-led states, the religious services were often presented with other important general programs. For facilities in Republican-led states, these services were not listed with other general programs but stood alone as a specific program. This placement also suggested how the facilities feel about these programs.
The facilities in Republican-led states had the religious services listed at the bottom of their program lists, often below educational or vocational programs. This placement suggests that these services are not as important as the other services.
Religious services are an important part of rehabilitation for some incarcerated individuals. Despite literature saying that both Republican and Democrat parties support rehabilitative efforts, religious services show that there is a stark difference in how the two parties support rehabilitative programs. Facilities in Republican-led states offer some programs but they are very restricted in terms of where they can be found. However, facilities in Democrat-led states offer these programs throughout most facilities.