‘The resurrection after the old has gone and the new has come’: understanding narratives of forgiveness, redemption and resurrection in Christian individuals serving time in custody for a sexual offence

Abstract

Research has shown how religion is associated with numerous positive effects including enhanced mood, increased feelings of hope, increased altruistic behaviour, improved ability to cope and also reducing people's involvement in delinquent and criminal behaviour. However, this has also been contested with some arguing that religion can have criminogenic effects. Whilst there is a growing body of research concerning the effect (criminogenic or positive) of religion on offending, there is currently a paucity of research focusing on sexual offending and religion. The aim of this study was to explore and understand the effects that religious beliefs have on individuals with sexual convictions' sense of self, identity, their thoughts about the future and on their daily lives in prison. The results focus on a centrally important superordinate theme related to forgiveness and redemption. The analysis unpacks participants' narratives of forgiveness and the impact such narratives have on participants. A key finding from the data in this study was that religious beliefs and being forgiven by a higher power appeared to facilitate redemptive selves and the enacting of these selves. Implications for practice and limitations are discussed.

Let Him Who Is without Sin Cast the First Stone: Religious Struggle among Persons Convicted of Sexually Offending

“…Perhaps most notably is becoming aware of one's intrinsic goodness, creating meaning and purpose from one's past experiences, and being motivated to contribute to the larger society, often with a focus on giving to future generations in the form of helping them to avoid or desist from offending. Engagement in faith communities provides persons who have sexually offended with the prospect of seeking both forgiveness (Blagden et al 2020) and psychological comfort (Kewley et al 2017). Their religious involvement also enables them to signal to other people, or to God, that as a result of a religious experience of redemption and forgiveness, they have changed.…”

‘Better as a Buddhist’: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of the Reflections on the Religious Beliefs of Buddhist Men Serving a Prison Sentence for a Sexual Offence

“…So why Buddhism? The current study with prisoners who identify as Buddhist is part of a larger research program with individuals of different faiths (see Winder et al 2018;Blagden et al 2018). Research on the link between recidivism and religion has demonstrated a weak association between the two (Johnson 2004): research such as this has, however, led to calls for more research on the impact of religious involvement and, in particular, faith-based treatment programs in prison (see, for example, Thomas and Zaitzow 2006).…”

The Spirituality of Carceral Citizenship: “Making Your Test Your Testimony”

“…This means interpreting what possible consequences stories might have for the storyteller and the environments where they are told” (Sandberg 2022:12). Religious self‐narratives provide insight into the motives, dispositions, and aspirations of narrators (Blagden et al 2020). As scholar of “Lived Religion” Nancy Ammerman puts it: “Religious practices of storytelling provide a window on how that narrative trajectory shapes identity and agency” (Ammerman 2020:25).…”