(RNS) A coalition of religious organizations and the American Civil Liberties Union have joined forces to protest a proposed rule by the federal Bureau of Prisons to allow officials to ban religious materials from prison chapel libraries if they could possibly promote “violence or criminal activity.”

A 14-page letter — signed by leaders of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, American Jewish Congress, Muslim Advocates, United Methodist Church, Seventh-day Adventists and others — was submitted Tuesday (March 17) to the Bureau of Prisons General Counsel.

“Distributing and reading religious material is as protected under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution as worshipping in churches or preaching from the pulpits,” said David Shapiro, the staff attorney for the ACLU’s National Prison Project. “It is not the role of the government to dictate what is religiously acceptable.”

The outcry comes two years after federal prison officials were widely criticized for trying to push a list of “acceptable materials” that restricted several popular books, including megachurch pastor Rick Warren’s “The Purpose-Driven Life.”

Anger over that move prompted Congress to pass the Second Chance Act, which forbids prisons from restricting access to religious materials — with an exception for works that could incite criminal behavior.

The ACLU and others are concerned that under the proposed rule, prison officials would have the power to confiscate sacred texts or other works that could, in one way or another, be interpreted to promote violence. Critics say it is not the bureau’s role to make that determination.

If the prison board decides to approve the rule, the coalition recommends that prison chaplains be consulted before any works are removed; prisoners be given at least 20 days notice prior to the removal of each work, to allow for filing grievances; and that publishers be notified when their works are banned.