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According to the British Humanist Association, cases like Alan's are more common than you'd think. For nearly a decade, the BHA has provided copies of the Young Atheist's Handbook to prisons around the country, and has lobbied the government to provide more resources for non-believers behind bars."'Chaplain' is a wholly Christian term and research shows that it often acts as a barrier for non-religious people in accessing support in times of crisis," says Simon O' Donoghue, BHA head of pastoral support. "Our pastoral carers provide a very similar service to religious chaplains, in that they provide a listening ear at times of crisis in order to tend to the pastoral needs of prisoners."O'Donoghue tells me that while most 'rehabilitation' services in prisons are run by 'secular' organizations—namely the probation service and psychology departments—they still contain faith-based element. Just take "recognizing the need for a higher power" in the 12-step RAPt drugs program. "So if you have a drug or alcohol problems and you are an atheist," he says, "your choice is rather narrow compared to your religious counterparts."Providing more choice in prisons will be difficult, though. According to the majority of voluntary chaplaincy organizations I spoke to, cuts to the prison service have hit prisoners the most, particularly in areas like welfare and support. Volunteers fill the gap, and, not surprisingly, most come from religious groups. You end up in a sort of catch-22, where the very types of people more likely to want to help—"because of the kind of redemptive narrative that exists in there," according to Matthew Wells, the national secretary of the Community Chaplaincy Association—might be the most alienating to atheist inmates."There's this idea that prisoners go in bad, and come out good—that's why I think religion is so powerful there," says Alan. "It's the whole idea of being 'forgiven.'" Instead, he suggests, prison should be a place with more emphasis on learning, "with all the free time, people could be using to look at their own opinions and decide for themselves who they want to be when their time is up—that's going to require more than some bloke telling you that God loves you."Follow Hussein on Twitter.There's this idea that prisoners go in bad, and come out good—that's why I think religion is so powerful there. It's the whole idea of being 'forgiven' — atheist and former inmate, Alan