In a decision Friday, a federal judge in Detroit put faith-based drug and alcohol treatment programs on notice that mixing religion and rehabilitation can be a recipe for violating the U.S. Constitution.
The decision came in a lawsuit filed by a former Genesee County man who said a Pentecostal preacher in Flint and his staff tried to turn him against his Catholic faith, confiscated his rosary and prayer book and isolated him from his family and lawyer without providing drug treatment after his 2001 marijuana arrest.