NCJ Number
137188
Journal
Federal Prisons Journal Volume: 2 Issue: 4 Dated: (Winter 1992) Pages: 8-10
Date Published
1992
Length
3 pages
Annotation
A 1990 survey of chaplains in the Federal Bureau of Prisons gathered information about motivations for becoming involved in prison ministry, job satisfaction, working relationships, and other aspects of the chaplains' feelings and work.
Abstract
The survey was distributed to all chaplains attending their national meeting in June 1990 and received responses from 113 chaplains. The majority of respondents were white (62 percent) males (89 percent) between ages 30 and 54 (80 percent). Seventeen percent of the participants were black and 6 percent were Hispanic. Thirty-seven percent were Catholic, 16 percent were Baptist, 9 percent were Assemblies of God, and 4 percent were Muslim. Fifty-two percent had been chaplains for 11 years or more. Findings revealed that the chaplains tend to view their work as important and believe that they perform their jobs well. They feel comfortable ministering to inmates, including inmates of faiths other than their own, and report positive professional working relationships with other correctional personnel. They also reported high levels of job satisfaction. However, 27 percent indicated that they felt that their work was not valued by others. In addition, they report that their work requires long hours and that they sometimes feel isolated form the mainstream segment of their faiths. Results suggested the desirability of efforts to educate other prison staff about the purposes and activities of the prison ministry and to improve the relationships of chaplains and their faiths. Illustrations