Understanding_Religion_in_Prisons

Understanding Religion when it comes to Inmates Dawn Mendoza Bryant & Stratton College ENGL 305 Research and Writing lll Proposal Research Paper Instructor Jay Spector October 20th, 2011 Abstract There are times when people go to church on a Sunday morning and think to their selves, “Are we lucky enough to have the chance to sit in a church and learn about the bible, learn about what God is trying to teach us'.” I am one of those people who sit and wonder if there are people in our society who are less fortunate as I am or others, since religion is so open and easy accessible to come by in our society . On the other hand it can’t be so easy for certain individuals such as incarcerated inmates to learn the bible or the gift of what God is telling us because the majority of their freedom is not accessible for them. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to have a timely conversation with a preacher, who is also my brother n law and also who consults inmates with the opportunity to discuss their opinions and thoughts when it comes to learning about God. Mr. Preacher Gilbert Mendoza participates in a program through The Racine County Ministries that is a privilege to reach out to certain area correctional institutes to spread the understanding of religion. Preacher Gilbert goes to Racine County Correctional Institute and meets with inmates to give them an opportunity to participate in learning about the bible, religion and what it what it means. This program can be beneficial to inmates if they believe that the word of God can help through their journey while being incarcerated. Religion and Inmates Sunday mornings are usually a tradition to go to a church of some sort or attend a school to teach and learn about a specific religion. There is however certain children who will act up being disruptive, disrespectful or just out right bad or naughty during the services. Most of the times you want to believe that they will mature and change; since I am currently studying in the criminal justice field, I seem to think that way. I have come to the understanding to convince myself that if a person makes a wrong decision or a mistake in life, they might deserve a second chance depending on the circumstances or what the wrong decision consists of. I seem to always look at my son in this circumstance. He has made many wrong decisions in his lifetime and he is only 20 years old, I believe that if he starts to believe in God a little bit more, he could turn his life around and make better decisions. Article Review Research Over many years, certain people in society have disagreed or argued and contradicted about inmate’s rights for religious education in our correctional systems. However, there are reasons to affirm that it is a gratifying idea to practice this. First of all, religion is linked to certain mental and physical health of some inmates. Religion has a certain way of repressing delinquency and it has a way of managing with the separations of imprisonment. The inmates need to understand to cope with what they did at fault and the reasons why they have been incarcerated. In this paper, I will be analyzing the developmental effects of religious education on inmates. There are both positive and negative effects that manifest when it comes to religious education. In the article “Jailhouse Rock of Ages” it describes a man named Charles Colson who was addressing for a new way of rehabilitation of inmates; his way was the moral and religious purpose. Chares is now the founder of Prison Fellowship, which is a Christian outreach program and is effective in more than 90% of American prisons (Loconte, 1997, para. 3). In a minimum security prison outside of Houston, inmates have all their daily activities relevant to religious activities in one part of the wing. Daily activities may include going to the gym, working out or doing a work release program. Their main goal is “to help as many men as possible become followers of Christ” (Loconte, 1997, para. 4). Bryon Johnson, a criminologist at Lamar University in Texas, said that some programs or activities will work with some offenders. That this goal does not work for the whole prison population. However, he did a study of four New York prisons and found out that inmates who went to at least 10 Bible studies were three times less likely to commit a crime or get them caught up of doing bad behavior after they are released. He said that if a Bible study actually accomplished this, which is usually once or twice a week, what would come to pass if the inmates got religious education all the time' (Loconte, 1997, para. 12) Houston, Texas jails and prisons were ready to find out. Within this program, there is a development that volunteers works with the inmates after they have been released from jail or incarceration. It is portrayed to help them work on their relationships with their family or the victims. The inmates can sign up for this program or they can be picked out to participate by someone who works with the program, as well. The programs focal point is on depression and self-image or self-esteem. The inmates need to become aware that they are accountable to God and their families and/or victims. This article demonstrates admirable ideas for my final paper because it shows the positive side of religious education for inmates because even though they have performed illegal acts in their lives, they are still human beings and God sees us as all of his children whether we are good or bad. There is also a concern regarding to gathering the opinions of the America public because they come out pocket and pay for the inmates to be in prison. The majority of the religious education is incorporated and managed from volunteers within community churches and the community it self. Reading this article made me speculate if there were inmates who didn’t have the opportunity to receive religious education. Also, do they offer more than one religious classification' There are many categories of religious beliefs in the world and inmates need to get a sense of all that is offered, not just one specific group or belief. The connection of religious education and the mental and physical health of inmates should be imperative for us to understand. When people go to church or get persuaded to a particular religious affiliation, they feel a sense of aspiration, interest, certainty, and preservation as an individual. Religion is related to personal and emotional gratification and serenity. Religious people or people who have the faith of god have to handle or conceive their environment more effectually, they can handle pressure, changes, devastations, they can cope better and compromise to their environment than those who are not as religious (Johnson and Larson, 1998, para. 6). A study done and reviewed by Jeffery Levin and Preston Schiller focused on religious membership and analyzed death and morbidity. They noticed in the survey that people who went to church or was an active member in their church had a longer life expectancy. Also, in the study they found out that that 90 percent of people who are greatly committed to religious activities generally have with low blood pressure (Johnson & Larson, 1998, para. 8). Before people are in the system, they have a chance to get the religious taste and change their life. They are free right now and no one will stop them from attending a church of their choice. Religion has been known for having good morals for people, especially juveniles (Johnson & Larson, 1998, para. 10). As one might think of it, people who commit crimes might not have the common sense or the morals others may have developed through their religious backgrounds. By providing religious contact with inmates, it allows them to resolve their guilt from the acts that brought them to prison in the first place. This self-reflection allows them to recognize their wrongdoing. Levin & Schiller’s study helped me further understand how religious education helps people out, even if they are in the system or not. They can be everyday people like you that have these same mental or physical health concerns or even be locked up for a crime they committed. Once again, I came to ask if this article make people want to think that offenders are people like you and me. There is a prison in Louisiana that is the largest in the United States. It is called Angola. Some of the hardest inmates are housed and most of them will end up dying there. Most of these criminals are on death row and have their own cell blocks because most are serving life sentences. None of them will receive parole or a reduction of their sentence; they will just die in prison (Frink, 2004, para. 1). This just seemed like a brutal prison; however, this prison was one of the first prisons in the state of Louisiana to welcome God in. The Warden, Burl Cain, encouraged faith based programs where many prisoners have graduated from seminary and are going as other missionaries to other prisons in the state (Frink, 2004, para. 3). About 1,600 inmates, at first, went through a program called Experiencing God. This program emphasized obedience based on a relationship with God and gave Christians a way to cope with difficult situations. The program helped the inmates accept that they were in prison and that it was God’s will and that he is doing the best he can for them (Frink, 2004, para. 11). This was an outstanding article because it really gave me the light I needed to see. It showed me that prisons are willing to do what they can to help inmates make their lives better, even if they are going to be in jail for life with no parole. Once again, I thought about the men who did not graduate from seminary or receive any religious education. Where are they' Why didn’t they want to get help as well' They all saw what the outcome was, so why did they not want to participate' Freedom on the Inside One afternoon I was sitting in the doctor’s office in my hometown and I saw my older pastor. He and I were catching up with each other and he asked me what I was doing with my life now that I am out of high school. I told him I was getting my degree in criminal justice and I wanted to work in a correctional or parole capacity. Of course, Pastor Wayne Tripp asked me if I was still attending church on a regular basis. I answered back to him, “yes, I go every Sunday and I teach Sunday school for preschoolers, as well”. Once he knew how involved I was in both the criminal justice aspect and the church aspect, he told me about his program he was involved him. Freedom on the Inside started on September 29th, 1998 when a simple request created a great change for the inmates (Freedom on the Inside, 2006, para. 1). Another pastor at the time asked Pastor Tripp to speak with this one inmate at the Sheboygan County Jail. Pastor Tripp thought that would be simple enough to do and he was glad to do that. Once one inmate told other inmates in the jail and this is how there ministry grew (Freedom on the Inside, 2006, para. 3). Pastor Tripp, along with Pastor DeMaster, have a great relationship with the jail staff that makes it easier to work with the inmates on a daily basis (Freedom on the Inside, 2006, para. 4). This ministry is run by volunteers only and they want anyone. They participate by sending letters, making visits, praying and distributing Bibles to those inmates who request them. They have volunteers who are male and female, as well. At Freedom on the Inside they do not only go to prisons and jails but they go to detention centers for juveniles and recovery centers (Freedom on the Inside, 2006, para. 4). Methodology During the research of this topic I was able to collect some information about Freedom on the Inside over the internet, but I wanted to get more detail about the program. I was able to sit down and talk with Pastor Wayne Tripp and Pastor Ivan DeMaster about this topic and interview the two men. Since I know Pastor Tripp on a more personal level I knew that this method would be the best for me. I feel like the direct approach is the best way to go if you want to get their feelings about a topic. I wanted to get a chance to talk with an inmate, but I was unable to get that opportunity. I was able to go to the Sheboygan County Jail with a female volunteer and watch her interact with the female inmates. This was a great feeling for me because I have never seen this before. I had certain questions that I wanted to know and wanted to get answered from both Pastors. I wanted to know what made them do this program and why they got involved. When I talked with Pastor Tripp he told me that he had male and female volunteers that go with him to the facilities. I would like to know how many volunteers they started out with and how many they have today. I was interested in learning if they keep in contact with the inmates after they have been released. I believe that is an important factor that inmates need in their life. They need someone other than their parole or probation agent to keep an eye on them and help watch over then them. Research Findings During the interviews of both of pastors I could tell this was something that they really enjoyed doing. On their website there is always a biblical verse. The one that I noticed the first day I looked was, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21. They have a passion for doing this with the inmates and these pastors want to do what is right for the inmates. I asked the pastors if they keep in contact with the inmates once they are removed from the jail or transferred or released. I was surprised to know that they did and they wanted to. Pastor DeMaster said, “We want to know when and where they are transferred to. Many of the inmates keep in contact with us and between Pastor Tripp and I we try to call them at least once a month” (Pastor Ivan DeMaster, personal communication, March 24, 2011). They also help the inmates after they are released when it comes to looking for a job, housing, or if they need any other attempt for recovery. Pastor Tripp has also been known for helping them find congregations that they can join if they believe that is what they want to do. Since both pastors talk with the jail staff, I wanted to know if they could tell any kind of difference in the males or females that they talk with who do not participate in the program. In response, they could tell a difference but not a large difference. It was with the way the inmates talked backed to the staff, the verbal abuse, and the way that the inmates talked with other inmates and how their behavior was toward everyone. Pastor Tripp said “you can tell who talks with God and who does not. Some people who talk with God just feel more comfortable because they have accepted what they did and know why they are in jail” (Pastor Wayne Tripp, personal communication, March 24, 2011). Implications Overall doing this study of how inmates react to religion education was successful because it shows how it not only affects the inmates but also the jail staff. I want to be able to do more research on this but look closely at the detention centers or see where the inmates are today after they have been released. Some other questions that I want to look at is what specifically happens at their pragmas when they go to the jail. Also if the inmate is allowed to share any personally information, as to why they are in jail with the volunteer they are paired up with. I know that the volunteer cannot give any personal information out; they can only speak about God. Something that would be interesting to learn is if it only Christian based or if there are other religions that do the same thing that this program offers. References Freedom on the Inside. (2006). Retrieved March 29, 2011 from http://freedomontheinside.com/profile.html Frink, C. (2004). Breaking Into Prison. Christianity Today, 48(5), 36. Retrieved from MasterFILE Premier. Johnson, B., & Larson, D. B. (1998). The faith factor. Corrections Today, 60(3), 106. Retrieved from Vocational and Career Collection. Loconte, J. (1997). Jailhouse rock of ages. Policy Review, (84), 12. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier.