Editorial: How do you test for religion?

In the biblical Book of Judges, a story is told of a test.

When the Gileadites vanquished the Ephraimites, the defeated people tried to escape across the Jordan River. The Gileadites, however, countered by testing refugees. Knowing the Ephraimite language didn’t have a “sh” sound, they asked people to say the word “shibboleth.” If they couldn’t say it, they were revealed.

Today, the word has a meaning taken from that story. It is something that identifies people as part of a group. You don’t check your zipper when someone says “Kennywood’s open!” Yeah, you’re probably not a Southwestern Pennsylvania native — and it shows for people who know.

Is Westmoreland County imposing a shibboleth on an inmate?

Kort Noel Eckman, 49, of Mt. Pleasant is charged with felony counts of attempted homicide and aggravated assault as well as related offenses in connection with the 2023 stabbing of his mother.

On July 14, he was scheduled for a potential guilty plea hearing, but that was continued when Westmoreland County Prison officials wouldn’t allow him to wear a yarmulke to and from the courthouse. Later, Eckman’s mother requested that the jail provide kosher meals for her son.

Does this mean he’s Jewish? County Commissioner Doug Chew, chairman of the prison board, said Eckman did not identify himself as Jewish when he entered the jail. Eckman’s crime, however, might point toward some level of belief. Police say Eckman has a mental health history and, at the time of the attack, believed his mother was a Nazi war criminal.

Tim Andrews is Eckman’s defense attorney. He says Eckman has not completed conversion to Judaism, but his process began before his 2023 arrest and was derailed by his time in custody.

This is where the test comes in. The county brought in a Pittsburgh rabbi to assess Eckman.

It’s a complicated question. While a baptism might formalize a Christian’s process, for many, simply professing faith is enough to be considered part of the religion. But Judaism is different. It is considered a “closed practice” because of its inherent cultural components. Judaism doesn’t evangelize, and conversion is serious and not common.

But do you have to be accepted by a congregation to share its beliefs? If you are shunned by the Amish or excommunicated by the Catholic Church, does that mean that is no longer your religion? What exactly is the yardstick Westmoreland County is using — and is it constitutional?

The First Amendment guarantees freedom of religion. It doesn’t require registration. There is no road test. That kind of paper trail wouldn’t accommodate epiphany or change of heart.

Westmoreland County Prison isn’t the first jail to face an issue like this. Religion is an easy mask to don to try to force accommodations. But that speaks to the need for a defined process and reasonable responses.

But a shibboleth doesn’t seem appropriate.