The Opportunities for Empirical Study of Religiosity within the Prison Population: A Review of Selected Empirical Research

Gojković, Teodora (2025) The Opportunities for Empirical Study of Religiosity within the Prison Population: A Review of Selected Empirical Research. In: Prison Life Organization and Security: Criminological, Penological, Sociological, Psychological, Legal, and Security Aspects. Institute of Criminological and Sociological Research, Belgrade, pp. 326-346. ISBN 978-86-80756-77-6

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Abstract

Historically, the idea of establishing the first penitentiary institutions in the 18th century was originally religious in nature. It was believed at that time that long-term isolation of offenders, combined with continuous and deep conversations with clergy – prison chaplains – would lead to their repentance and sincere regret for the sins they had committed. In a broader sense, religion in prison and prison in religion is not a new phenomenon, although it may appear so, since research on this topic is rare, and most of it dates back to the end of the last century. Based on findings about the inverse relationship between religion and crime, the main aim of this paper is to present the results of some studies that confirm the positive impact of religion on convicted individuals serving prison sentences. These studies provide evidence of religion’s beneficial effects on the mental health of inmates; its positive influence on their adaptation to prison conditions; the impact of religion, spiritual leaders, and participation in religious programs in prisons on gaining social support and adopting prosocial values; its effect on preparing convicted individuals for life after release, i.e., their rehabilitation and reintegration; and on the quality of life in prisons, among other things. The paper is structured to first present the explanatory framework for research on religion in prisons; then it provides a review of some empirical studies on religion in U.S. prisons and two studies conducted in Serbia. Although studies reporting negative findings regarding religious practice in prison conditions are even rarer, it is concluded that future research on this topic could examine whether religion might also produce negative effects on convicted individuals serving prison sentences, such as antisocial behavior, extrinsic forms of religiosity, mental disorders, the spread of informal prison systems, and so on. Keywords: Religion, prisons, convicted persons, religious programs in prison, prison chaplains

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