Criminology as Religion?

Abstract

The terrain in and around academia is being transformed. Criminology has not been exempt, with dwindling government funding forcing greater emphasis on contract research, consultancies and even direct programme management. Various commentators have expressed concern about the future of the discipline--but what is it that is being changed? This paper explores the nature of criminology and argues that it always has been as much a moral as an empirical science. Using Weber's sociology of religion as a model we argue that criminology has generated a variety of types, including: magicians' (whose primary concern is with what works?'); priests' (guardians of doctrine); gurus' (distillers of current expertise); and prophets' (bearers of fresh visions'). The paper also explores tensions and paradoxes inherent in criminology's religious dimension: in particular the possibility that desire for moral virtuosity' (often disguised as a concern for theoretical purity') can lead to rejection of worldly involvement on the grounds that it will cloud insight. In this context the paper argues that the consequences of a shift toward market concerns need not be entirely negative.