Is There a Relationship Between Religious Belief and Regret? Research Among Long-term Prisoners

Abstract

Aim: To examine what characterises the religiosity of those offenders sentenced to long prison terms who actively participate in religious practice in prison and how these characteristics affect the crime committed and the judgment of punishment.
Methodology: With the National Command of the Penitentiary Organisation’s permission, authors interviewed 16 inmates in three penal institutions. All of them have been serving more than 15 years in prison and, according to the prison chaplain, are actively involved in religious practices. The interview questions were created based on preconceived narratives, and then these narratives were analysed. Based on the analyses, authors determined what characterises the religiosity of the interview subjects and their perception of the crime they committed and their punishment. Finally, authors compared the correlations between different characteristics of religiosity with perceptions of the act and the judgment.
Findings: Those who live their faith more deeply take responsibility in a typical way, most of them do not even dispute the extent of the punishment. In the case of those who admit their responsibility, the motive of regret also appears, which has a solid religious charge. This is indicated by the fact that all those who admit their actions and show remorse have the motive of a desire for forgiveness. A positive and closer connection between the quality of religious faith and responsibility is indicated by the fact that those prisoners who are characterised by scepticism towards religiosity admit to committing the act but do not show remorse. It also leads to the conclusion that those more characterised by formal faith either denied their act or did not talk about it.
Value: Atonement appearing in forgiveness can positively influence the achievement of punishment goals. According to literature data, forgiveness and reconciliation significantly reduce the likelihood of recidivism. This is true for almost all directions of forgiveness. For the forgiveness of the victim as well as the forgiveness of the offender towards others. Therefore, it can be assumed that the motives of repentance and forgiveness in religiosity work against becoming a recidivist.