Religion In Prison Research Articles

Measuring Religion in Prisons: Offenders' Beliefs and Attitudes

ABSTRACT This article reports on ways to measure and assess the effects of living within a religious regime, comparing Kainos prisoners with matched control participants. Kainos is a Christian, cognitive behavioral regime run in English prisons. In this article, we consider prisoners' attitudes toward religion and provide objective information regarding the impact of a religious intervention on the religiosity of prisoners. We present data from three scales: the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith (SCSORF; Plante & Boccaccini, 1997a); the Age Universal I-E (Intrinsic-Extrinsic) Scale (Maltby, 2002; Maltby & Lewis, 1997); and the Francis Attitudes Towards Christianity Scale (Francis, 1993b; Francis, Lewis, Philipchalk, Brown, & Lester, 1995; Lewis & Maltby, 1997; Lewis, Shevlin, Lloyd, & Adamson, 1998). Two hundred and sixteen prisoners participated, from across all prisons in which Kainos ran. The Kainos program attracted prisoners who were already seeking spiritual sustenance. Religious prisoners held at normal, non-Kainos locations were less likely to retain their beliefs. There are implications for how the Prison Service could better sustain spirituality among the imprisoned.

From ‘chapel’ To ‘prayer Room’: The Production, Use, and Politics of Sacred Space in Public Institutions

Bringing together a decade of research on religion in prisons, hospitals, universities and, more recently, at the Millennium Dome in 2000, in this paper I look at some of the ways in which sacred spaces in public institutions have changed over time, particularly in terms of how they are produced, designated, and used. The substance of these transformations can be encapsulated in the phrase ‘from Chapel to Prayer Room. Behind the various changes that I outline, I am particularly concerned to explore how the changes in the way sacred space is used contributes to new political struggles, particularly when it comes to issues of ownership, appropriation, and design. I also explore the particular contests that lie behind the separate provision of religious spaces for Muslims.

The Reasons for Religious Involvement in the Correctional Environment

SUMMARY This paper discusses the reasons for inmate religious involvement in the correctional environment. Participant observation and seventy individual interviews were employed to gather the ethnographic data in two large maximum-security prisons located in the northeast United States. Content analysis and constant comparison methods were used to develop analytic categories and to compare results across research sites and between denominational groups. It was revealed that inmates practice religion for a variety of reasons depending on the sincerity of their intentions. The results introduce insight into why inmates practice religion in prison, provide valuable information for those who administer religious programs, and are shown to be theoretically linked with findings of prior research conducted in the correctional environment.

Prisoners, Prison, and Religion

SUMMARY During the twentieth century there has been much speculation by scholars in the United States about the relationship between religion and prisoners. In spite of the fact that both religion and the prison have been subjected to considerable study, we know little about religion in prison, particularly as it relates to the psychological adjustment of offenders to the prison environment and reduction in problematic behaviors such as disciplinary infractions. Applying a survey methodology which incorporates a recently developed scale of religiousness (the first to be developed with the assistance of inmates specifically for use with inmates) and a previously developed scale of inmate adjustment to prison, this study explores the relationship between inmate religiousness and adjustment to prison and the number of disciplinary confinements they receive. A self-report questionnaire was administered to a non-random sample of 769 inmates in 20 prisons from 12 states in order to determine if an inmate's religiousness was related to prison adjustment and the number of disciplinary infractions they received. The findings from the study indicate that a significant relationship exists between inmate religiousness and multiple measures of inmate adjustment to the prison environment. More specifically, increasing levels of religiousness, as measured by a self-report questionnaire, are associated with higher levels of in-prison adjustment, as measured by the Wright prison adjustment questionnaire. Similarly, inmate religiousness (as measured by the same self-report questionnaire) is also significantly related to the number of times inmates report being placed in disciplinary confinement for violation of prison rules. Thus, higher levels of inmate religiousness are associated with better psychological adjustment to the prison environment and fewer self-reported disciplinary confinements.

Prison Religion in Action and Its Influence on Offender Rehabilitation

SUMMARY A theory of religious conversion, social attachment, and social learning guides this study of prison religion and its influence on the rehabilitation of adult male offenders. The study found the religious involvement of inmates in a large medium/maximum security prison in South Carolina was extremely varied and extensive. During a one-year period 49% of the incarcerated men (779 out of 1,579) attended at least one religious service or program. Over 800 religious services or meetings, across many different denominations and religious groups, were held during the year. Two prison chaplains, four inmate religious clerks and 232 volunteers who donated about 21,316 hours of work to the prison (the equivalent of 11 full-time paid positions) made this high level of programming possible. The estimated yearly cost of these religious services was inexpensive at between$150 to $250 per inmate served; in contrast, other effective correctional programs cost around $14,000 per person. Controlling for a number of demographic and criminal history risk factors, logistic regression found an inverse relationship between intensity of religious involvement and the presence or absence of in-prison infractions. As religious involvement increased the number of inmates with infractions decreased. The findings of the study provide greater insight into the nature of religion in prison setting and support the view that religion can be an important factor in the process of offender rehabilitation.

The Value of Religion in Prison

In recent years, religious programming for inmates is being applauded by some as the latest answer to recidivism. Policy makers and correctional officials alike are among the supporters of these programs that go well beyond conventional prison ministry. The emphasis in promoting the expansion of religion-based programs indeed lies in the claim that faith in a higher power prevents relapse into criminal activity better than secular strategies. Whether this claim can be consistently validated remains unclear. Moreover, the sustained focus on religion's utility in preventing future criminal conduct diminishes religion's immediate value to the inmate during the term of incarceration. With this latter function in mind, this article reports findings from qualitative inquiries conducted in several prisons nationwide. Designed to reveal the meaning of religion to inmates, the study calls attention to the role of religion in preventing devaluation and fostering survival.

Religion in Prison. Equal Rites in a Multi-Faith Society

Religion in Prison. Equal Rites in a Multi-Faith Society

Rational Choice Theory and prison chaplaincy: the chaplain's dilemma1

Critical responses to the application of Rational Choice theories to the study of religious phenomena tend to be polarized between outright denial that the theories have any relevance to religion and equally outspoken claims that the theories are the only hope for progress in the sociology of religion. This article aims to avoid both of these extreme positions by raising a question, instead, about one of Rational Choice's central propositions about religion. This proposition holds that levels of religious vitality vary positively with the degree to which agencies of the state are prevented from regulating religious activity. The findings of recent research into prison chaplaincy in the UK and the USA will be used to test this claim. The main argument will be that the existence of an established church has facilitated a higher level of religious activity, especially for minority faiths, in prisons in England and Wales than is possible in American prisons. This difference in religious vitality is explained in terms of the Church of England's privileged position as a 'broker' between the state and minority faith communities. There is greater equality of opportunity for religious activity in American prisons, but the level of the activity is necessarily lower. In neither country is there anything truly resembling a 'free' market for religion in prisons, but the established Church of England is able to use its quasi-monopoly powers to broker advantageous conditions for minority faith communities. This brokerage function may be advantageous to all religious organizations in the highly regulated 'economy' of prisons.

Book Review

Book reviewed:J. Beckford and S. Gilliat, Religion in Prison: Equal Rites in a Multi‐Faith Society

Social Justice and Religion in Prison: The Case of England and Wales

The policy of the Federal Bureau of Prisons in the United States is to show equal respect for all religious faiths, but the Prison Service Chaplaincy of England and Wales employs only Christian chaplains and is effectively controlled by the “established” Church of England. Recent empirical research shows that prisoners who belong to minority faith communities and new religious movements in England and Wales do not enjoy equality of opportunity to practice their religion. For example, their religious and spiritual needs are met by volunteer Visiting Ministers, who in turn must rely on full-time Christian chaplains to facilitate their access to prisoners, meeting rooms, and religious artifacts. This dependency gives rise to feelings of resentment, unjust discrimination, and marginalization among members of minority faith communities.

Book Review: Religion in Prison

Book Review: Religion in Prison

Religion in Prison: Balancing the Free Exercise, No Establishment, and Equal Protection Clauses

Religion in Prison: Balancing the Free Exercise, No Establishment, and Equal Protection Clauses

Book Review: Religion in Prison

Book Review: Religion in Prison

Religion in Prison

Religion in Prison

Implementing Religion in Prison

Implementing Religion in Prison