The “Watchful Eye of God”: The Role of Religion in the Rehabilitation and Reentry of Repentant Jewish Prisoners

Author(s):  
Michal Morag ◽  
Elly Teman

Can participation in a religious rehabilitation program benefit a released prisoner’s reentry into the community, and if so, how? Which elements of the religious worldview can be translated into tools for promoting desistance? Using a qualitative approach, we conducted 30 interviews with released prisoners from 3 months to 5 years beyond release who participated in a Jewish faith-based rehabilitation program administered by Israel’s Prisoner Rehabilitation Authority. We interviewed participants in the Torah Rehabilitation Program about the role of religion in their lives and in their desistance from crime. We map out the spiritual, behavioral, and psychological tools they feel aided them in facing the challenges of reentry.

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. e582-e589 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele R. Hanselin ◽  
Deborah L. Roybal ◽  
Thomas B. Leininger

For patients of reproductive age, treating cancer may come at the price of infertility. Literature regarding fertility preservation recommendations in this population has increased significantly, but this literature too often overlooks or insufficiently considers the relevance of religious preferences. Similarly, practice guidelines do not address the role of religion in the oncofertility discussion. The acceptance of oncofertility practices varies significantly among Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. A patient’s faith-based spirituality or secular morality may enhance his or her interpretation of the meaning of illness and should be incorporated into the informed-consent process. In this article, we describe the role of religious sensitivity in oncofertility care and argue for its importance in such care. We briefly summarize the views and moral reasoning about oncofertility in a few religions commonly encountered in many patient populations today. We recommend that clinicians discuss fertility options early in the decision process and, when relevant, incorporate the patient’s moral and religious preferences into the treatment plan. We encourage providers to be prepared to offer resources to patients who desire moral and spiritual guidance about fertility preservation options. Hospital chaplains should be able to provide such resources.


Author(s):  
Regula M. Zwahlen

By analogy to Kant’s question ‘how is knowledge possible?’, Sergei Bulgakov was driven by the following questions: how are history, economy, art, and religion possible? Bulgakov explored the ‘truths’ of modern thought—human dignity (humanism), human dependence on the material world (materialism), social equality (socialism), and striving for a better future (idealism)—that became the cornerstones of his religious worldview. In Vladimir Soloviev’s footsteps, Bulgakov developed a ‘synthetic philosophy’ that would reconcile faith and reason, metaphysics and science, and motivate Christians to engage in politics in order to build just societies. With a focus on the interplay of social and economic teachings with religious movements, his early works contribute to ‘post-secular’ reflections on the crucial role of religion in societies. The paradigm of the ‘return of the prodigal son’ motivated both Bulgakov’s personal and intellectual development: in his view, the radical departure from God in the age of modernity is an important, if not necessary step on humanity’s way back to its Father’s house, and faith is a double-sided God–human act of human religious thirst and God’s response. Thus, Bulgakov’s early works dwell on culture and history as God–human synergy within the framework of the concept of Sophia. The latter is Bulgakov’s answer to the question as to how God’s revelation, divine-human creativity, and the world’s salvation are possible.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 51-66
Author(s):  
Zafer Ayvaz

Forced migration is a huge asset, but also a challenge within Europe. The key to overcoming it is love, tolerance, dialogue, humility, self-devotion, as well as creating common and safe spaces for meeting and working together in socially beneficial tasks. In order to prevent and solve problems arising from taking in refugees of different faiths and cultures, believers of all religions need to accept these tasks as a top priority. Although the role of religion in lives of immigrants has been a subject of interest by scholars, not much focus had been put on the importance of social activism of faith-based community organisations in favour of immigrants. This paper focuses on social networks as playing an important role in the integration process, and examines Turkish Islamic Scholar Fethullah Gulen’s view of integration within current EU policy regarding Muslim immigrants.


Author(s):  
Robert B. Lloyd ◽  
Melissa Haussman ◽  
Patrick James

This chapter concludes the study of the role of religion in health-care processes and outcomes. The results of Uganda, Mozambique, and Ethiopia underscore the critical importance of religion concerning the provision and consumption of health care. Results affirm the frame of reference offered by the Social Determinants of Health about processes. Faith-inspired organizations are important, even essential, in health care. Health seeking behaviour is impacted upon by a holistic mindset that views physical and mental health as intertwined. Africans thus pursue health care in a rational way, with an openness to and even preference for faith-based provision. A review of gendered health outcomes, centered around the Millennium Development Goals, reveals clear progress in meeting goals.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 55-71
Author(s):  
Polixenia Nistor ◽  

Christian ethics of care has its roots in evangelical teachings and consists in helping the poor, the suffering, the prisoner, the orphan, the old people, the widows and, in general, the one who is humble, experiencing incapacity. A series of papers show that, at global level, 90% of charitable staff work as an employee or volunteer in religious organizations or faith-based organizations (Crisp, 2014: 11). Recognizing the social importance of the activity underwent in faith-based organizations comes in the context of reconsidering the role of religion in society and recognizing the failure of complete separation between secular society and religion, in the context of a post-secular society (Barbato & Kratochvil, 2008; Habermas, Blair, & Debray, 2017).


Author(s):  
Sultan Khan

Since time immemorial, religion has been, and is, a part of society that provides a moral compass and stability in society. It regulates human behavior so that there is conformity to norms and values that are upheld by society. Deviation from these norms and values is subject to sanction, which results in incarceration. At the turn of the 20th century, a more proactive step has been taken for the rehabilitation of those who have come into conflict with the law. The many secular programs that were implemented in the rehabilitation of prisoners 1 provided little to the desired effect, which is highlighted by looking at the rate of recidivism. In this context, the role of religion became increasingly recognized as a way to rehabilitate prisoners. In some instances, faith-based programs have been integrated into secular programs, while in other instances, faith-based organizations (FBOs) volunteer to independently provide their service. Irrespective of the approach used, there is sufficient evidence to support the view that faith-based programs have a positive effect on the rehabilitation of prisoners and helps to reduce recidivism.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 54-62
Author(s):  
Rimmi Datta ◽  
Jayanta Mete

Consciousness, knowledge, and understanding in Islam are a fundamental prerequisite for all Muslims to allow them to affirm, think, and behave under the principles of religion. Muslim women and girls have been seen for years as potential objects of modernization and modernity. Popular belief has arisen that, for a nation to be prosperous, girls need to be educated and will raise their nation from its broad range of social issues. Women's education was indispensable to the discourses that pursued to modernize emerging and Muslim societies. Muslim women thought it was just as important to educate girls as it was to educate boys, and that they acknowledged parental and marital influence over the rights of women to be educated and to work. As Muslim women move up the educational ladder, the role of religion as a predictor of academic achievement is dwindling. This emphasis on the experiences of educated Muslim women exacerbates the prevailing narrative of modernity that portrays women's education and gender equality as an expression of individual women's choice and free will against any patriarchal structures of family, culture, and Islam. Use qualitative approach This paper deals with the historical perspective of Muslim woman's education, their educational rights, curriculum development of Muslim education, and the importance of Muslim female education


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