Aspects of prisoners’ religious practice

Abstract

Aim: The study examines the effects exerted by the Prison Chaplain Service in the light of the religious life of the inmates. Another question to be explored is how the recognition of sin and repentance appear in the lives of the convicted, and how all this affects their religiosity.
Methodology: Questionnaire survey covering eight prisons, involving 200 prisoners.
Findings: Surprisingly men showed measurably higher satisfaction with the religious opportunities provided by the Prison Chaplaincy Service and by some prison mission organisations. Compared to women, the increase in religiosity among male prisoners also shows a more marked pattern. Beyond this, however, regardless of gender, it can be noted that a low number of prisoners come to the realisation of their (sin) offence, thus the expression of repentance and the need for reparation is also expressed to a modest extent.
Value: The vast majority of respondents (more than 70%) expressed satisfaction with the guarantee of freedom of worship as a fundamental right. The differences between the two genders in the area of faith life and issues related to the enforcement of repentance raise the need for further research.