In response to both of the persons who commented on my post, I will agree that there is a difference between Orthodox and Reform. I am a member of an Orthodox shul. And am very familiar with Aleph and their ministry in prison. Most of my experience is with Orthodoxy. However, I do have a friend or two in the Reform shuls and even the Messianic ones and the ones that I am aware of have been accepted. That doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement or other situations where things don’t go so well.
And, after I posted this, I had some second thoughts about what I said. In no wise was I trying to dis the Christian religion. There are many groups out there (like Kairos) which does many things for prisoners in prison. And my hat is off to them for their work.
And I have heard of churches who will accept registrants as worshippers. So, my apologies if any of what I had said was offensive to anyone. Such was not my intention.
My personal experience–including second hand knowledge–is it seems that POST-prison acceptance seems to be an issue of one level or another among nearly every faith. To one degree or another. Maybe I am just lucky. If so, I thank G-d for that. Having that spiritual balance is important to me.

Also Orthodox shuls tend to be far more involved in prisoner support (Aleph being just one example) and as a result of those experiences are better equipped to make realistic risk assessments. Whereas, a Reform rabbi admitted to me that those in his movement have a tendency to forget individuals once they are incarcerated.

Just a personal observation, not a knock on this or that movement of this relatively small religion.

Also there may be differences between Reform and Orthodox in how they handle this situation. Typically in an Orthodox shul (such as Bal Harbor and others), the rabbi calls the shots. If he feels that you present a manageable (or negligible) safety risk then you can expect your spiritual needs to be accommodated, regardless of what certain other worshippers may think. You can get an assessment quickly without the issue hanging over your head, and with a minimum of lashon hara. And it helps if you accept responsibility.

But in a Reform synagogue, the rabbi is answerable to a lay board, who may have difficulty reaching consensus and may not well understand the concepts of lashon hara or teshuvah. Just one uncomfortable or uninformed board member can potentially have veto power over a registrant’s involvement.

This is based on personal observation (and that of podcaster/activist Jason), not more statistical study as Drs Leon and Buckridge are doing. But I will share these details with them if they feel they are relevant.

I, too, often find myself called to the Torah and treated as an equal, despite my poor past life choices, and it is my hope that registrants of other faiths can undergo similar experiences.

Mark – it depends on the congregation. Even among the Jewish religion there’s the full spectrum. There are religious groups (such as the Aleph Institute which is affiliated with the Shul of Bal Harbor) who are dedicated to serving the prison and reentry population, and there are some congregations who expressly excluded people from their own children’s bnai’ mitzvot because there was a junior congregation on campus. There is no group “as a whole” that is more accepting than another.

Large response, hang in there they will get to you

So much for “Come all, love all, accept all.”

I know, right? Its like saying a murderer or a drug dealer can be forgiven, but not someone who commits a sex crime. Where in the Bible does it say that? Last time I read the Bible it said God hates all sin, and there is no sin worse than another, because if we break just one commandment, we’ve broken them all. Also the last time I looked, the only sin that won’t be forgiven is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
It matters not how minor we think a sin is. In God’s eyes, someone who steals a pack of bubble gum is just as bad as someone who commits genocide and unless he repents, will be thrown into the lake of fire along with the mass murderer.
Any preacher who turns away someone who committed a sex crime but accepts a former shoplifter will have to answer for that one day.

I’ll rephrase that. When I said most churches, it was those I personally looked into. I was either not welcome or it was a church that promoted false teachings.
I know there are a lot of churches that don’t care about a person’s past, but I have yet to find one that preaches the Bible and salvation, not all this false prosperity nonsense.