NCJ Number
96372
Journal
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology Volume: 17 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1984) Pages: 177-180
Date Published
1984
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Structured interviews with 86 male offenders serving time at the Cook County House of Correction in Chicago revealed decreases in strength of religious belief after 12 months of incarceration. Men felt they had been abandoned by a God and were unwilling to comply with various lawabiding values and attitudes.
Abstract
All subjects indicated a specific religious preference upon entering the institution. Subjects said their beliefs in sacredness and God were stronger before incarceration. After a year in prison, they had more negative attitudes toward prayer and less faith in a God as a compassionate and loving figure. Subjects reported decreases in their attitudes of interacting with others in society in a spirit of cooperation, honesty, and trust. Many said they lacked the religious mechanisms to cope with conflicts and the unknown. These findings suggest that incarceration may have a negative influence on religious functions which in turn can lead to personality dysfunction -- past values no longer are important and motivation toward specific goals is lost. Some inmates said they had become atheists or agnostics while imprisoned and felt religion had blinded them to the nature of the real world. The paper includes 11 references.