Social Justice and Religion in Prison: The Case of England and Wales

The policy of the Federal Bureau of Prisons in the United States is to show equal respect for all religious faiths, but the Prison Service Chaplaincy of England and Wales employs only Christian chaplains and is effectively controlled by the "established" Church of England. Recent empirical...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social justice research 1999-12, Vol.12 (4), p.315-322
Main Author: Beckford, James A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Criminal Justice Policy
Discrimination
England
England and Wales
Minority Groups
Prisoners
Prisons
Religion
Religious Cultural Groups
Religious Movements
Social Justice
Wales
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Summary:The policy of the Federal Bureau of Prisons in the United States is to show equal respect for all religious faiths, but the Prison Service Chaplaincy of England and Wales employs only Christian chaplains and is effectively controlled by the "established" Church of England. Recent empirical research shows that prisoners who belong to minority faith communities and new religious movements in England and Wales do not enjoy equality of opportunity to practice their religion. For example, their religious and spiritual needs are met by volunteer Visiting Ministers, who in turn must rely on full-time Christian chaplains to facilitate their access to prisoners, meeting rooms, and religious artifacts. This dependency gives rise to feelings of resentment, unjust discrimination, and marginalization among members of minority faith communities. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:0885-7466
1573-6725
DOI:10.1023/A:1022017024667