‘The Room is Small, but the Heart is Big’—Religion and Community Life in Philippine Prisons

Abstract

Duterte’s War on Drugs has brought a huge increase in the population of already heavily overcrowded prisons. Reflecting the overall poverty of large parts of Philippine society and a government that shows little interest in allocating sufficient resources to the needs of prisoners, prisons struggle with a growing number of inmates. In this context, religious groups play a crucial role in contributing spiritual and material resources. This study is based on an investigation in two penal institutions in the Philippines: the Manila City Jail in downtown Manila, a remand centre for inmates awaiting trial; and the New Bilibid Prison, with an inmate population of around 19,000 possibly the world’s largest prison, located in the outskirts of Manila. The study uses the framework of religious citizenship to describe inmates as active agents of change who, through their religious activities, shape communal structures and provide frameworks of meaning amid suffering and deprivation. Based on participating observation and interviews with inmates, with penal staff, and with religious service providers, this ethnographic study analyses the role of religion within the complex penal society as provider of social, material and spiritual support.