that an inmate’s sincerity of religious beliefs in Native American spirituality can be defined solely by his race or heritage. In determining whether a particular professed faith is a religion, for First Amendment purposes, courts are to consider whether the faith “occupies a place in the lives of its members ‘parallel to that filled by the orthodox belief in God’ in religions more widely accepted in the United States.” Dettmer v. Landon, 799 F.2d 929, 931 (4th Cir.1986) (quoting United States v. Seeger, 380 U.S. 163, 166, 85 S.Ct. 850, 13 L.Ed.2d 733 (1965)). “[RJeligious beliefs need not be acceptable, logical, consistent, or comprehensible to others in order to merit First Amendment protection.” Thomas v. Review Bd., 450 U.S. 707, 714, 101 S.Ct. 1425, 67 L.Ed.2d 624 (1981) (<HOLDING>); Dettmer, 799 F.2d at 932 (holding that prison
holding that unemployment compensation benefits received by plaintiff are collateral source and that defendant could not reduce personal injury damages because of such benefits holding once the plaintiff who had filed a fela claim concluded that he was injured and believed the injury was caused by his employment he had a duty to investigate the situation in order to confirm or deny his belief holding that defendant was not resident of his mothers household even though his drivers license listed his mothers address and he received mail there because he expressed a belief that his residence was in a different location than his mothers home he rented and occupied his own residence and he testified that he was only living with his mother after expiration of his lease until he could find another place to live holding that state could not deny unemployment compensation benefits to a jehovahs witness who terminated his employment because he believed his work in the production of a weaponsrelated product violated the principles of his religion holding that erisa preempts the texas dtpa because plaintiff relied on state law to advance his complaint that his benefits under the plan were terminated