NCJ Number
247459
Journal
Religions Volume: 2 Dated: 2011 Pages: 590-610
Date Published
2011
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This paper presents evidence to support its recommendation that prison staff foster and support inmate self-identities rooted in humanist, spiritual, and religious (H/S/R) beliefs and perceptions.
Abstract
The meaning and direction inherent in H/S/R pathways can be an essential part of the evidence-based responsivity principle of effective correctional programming and the associated process of desistence from crime. The evidence for this for this position was obtained through an analysis of the sociology of the H/S/R involvement of 349 women and 3,009 men during the first year of their incarceration in an Oregon prison. Ninety-five percent of the women and 71 percent of the men voluntarily attended at least one H/S/R event during their first year of imprisonment. These events were led mostly led by representatives of diverse religious and spiritual traditions that included Native-American, Protestant, Islamic, Wiccan, Jewish, Jehovah Witness, Latter-day Saints/Mormons, Seventh Day Adventist, Buddhist, and Catholic; however, increasingly, such events are secular or humanist in context, such as yoga, life-skills development, non-violence communication, and transcendental meditation. The men and women in the sample had much higher rates of H/S/R involvement than has been found in the general population in Oregon. Mirroring gender-specific patterns of H/S/R involvement in the community, women in prison were significantly more likely than men to attend H/S/R events. Involvement in such events has been found to help people adjust psychologically and behaviorally to prison life and develop personal narratives and identities that support desistance from crime. Further research will determine whether and how this practice is related to reductions in recidivism. 5 tables, 5 figures, and 44 references