Do religious programs in prison work? A quasi-experimental evaluation in the Israeli prison service

Becoming Sincere: Why Do Jewish Inmates in Israeli Prisons Embrace Religion?

“…Our interviewees were initially drawn to religious participation during incarceration out of crisis, boredom, as a way to pass the time, out of nostalgia, and to avoid work. This level of participation, in which full observance and commitment to a religious lifestyle are not required, does not seem to lower recidivism, as Haviv et al’s (2020) study indicates.…”

“…These included a calming effect, a sense of a clean slate, a feeling of spiritual repair, shame management, status maintenance, and a feeling of continued hope and support on a bumpy path. These intrinsic benefits may partially explain why Haviv et al (2020) found that men who began as seminary participants and then progressed to living in the religious wards had significantly lower rates of recidivism.…”

“…A recent quantitative study by Haviv et al (2020) indicated that the risk of recidivism was not lower for seminary participants in Israeli prisons in comparison with nonparticipant Jewish men. However, for men who first participated in the seminaries and later transferred to the religious wards, the relative risk of rearrest within 5 years of release was 12.4% lower than among nonparticipant Jewish men.…”

“…Attended by approximately 1,200 inmates—around one-fourth of incarcerated Jewish–Israeli men, the number of these seminaries expanded threefold from 2007 to 2016. 2 Participants must be Jewish, literate, and have a minimum of 8 years education; they agree to attend morning prayers and Torah (bible) study classes but are not required to lead a religious lifestyle (Haviv et al, 2019). Prisoners who wish to practice a further level of observance can transfer to separate, religious wards that are more selective; to be admitted, prisoners must commit to an intensive schedule of prayer and religious study groups.…”

“…In comparison with the large number of men in the seminaries, fewer inmates transfer to religious wards—approximately 450 inmates as of 2018 (Haviv et al, 2020). Still, these wards are growing in number, indicating that the number of men wishing to commit further to the path of religious invigoration is also expanding.…”