International experience of spiritual education of convicted persons

The article is devoted to the analysis of the international experience of spiritual education of convicts. It is concluded that in most developed countries of the world there is a chaplaincy service in every correctional institution, where chaplains perform both liturgical and non-liturgical (social) functions. The purpose of the article is to analyze the features of spiritual education of convicts in developed countries. Methodology. The article has the comparative analysis. Results. The administration of correctional institutions of the studied countries of the world promotes the right of convicts to religious activity. Spiritual and educational work with them is carried out by prison chaplains of various Churches. They not only worship, but also participate in social programs. Representatives of their religious denominations are invited for convicts of different religions. In most countries, prison chaplains perform both liturgical and non-liturgical (social) functions. Practical implication. International experience of convicts’ spiritual education can be used to create a national chaplain service in Ukraine. Value (originality). Manifested in the analysis of the experience of convicts’ spiritual education in 41 developed countries. Key words: spiritual education, convicts, international experience, prison chaplains, religious organizations. Key words: spiritual education, convicts, international experience, prison chaplains, religious organizations.

The Impact of Privatization on Minority Faith Prison Chaplains in Canada

Canadian federal prison chaplaincy underwent a major shift in 2013 when the provision of its services was privatized and outsourced to a single for-profit company. This article presents a summary of the experiences and concerns expressed by minority faith chaplains serving in federal correctional institutions following privatization. It is based on ten in-depth, semi-structured interviews with minority faith prison chaplains. The results show that minority faith federal prison chaplains are concerned about increased levels of bureaucratization that have compromised the quality of spiritual care available to prisoners, reductions in resources for chaplains, and increased levels of emotional exhaustion and frustration among themselves and fellow minority faith chaplains serving in Canadian correctional facilities.

EXPLORATION OF EURASIAN PRISON CHAPLAINS’ PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING TO RAISE THEIR JOB SATISFACTION

The article aims to attract the attention of policymakers, educators, business-affiliated bodies, and community to the psychological well-being of such prison staff members as chaplains whose job satisfaction will directly influence inmates’ rehabilitation and the health of the society in general. A phenomenological research was carried out in a non-profit organization Good News Jail and Prison Ministry whose mission is to provide spiritually mature, equipped, and motivated chaplains serving in 22 states, one American territory and 25 countries. The research sample was the participants of six Eurasian regions. The data were collected using interviews, diary notes and reports of stakeholder and problem tree analysis. The literature review and the gained data reveal a clear profile of what and who prison chaplains should be to guide prisoners towards their integration into society. It exposes both sides of the same system, known as penitentiary, as well as indicates problem solution strategies as well as requirements to maintain the work in line with trends in the branch. The research has brought repeatedly proved evidence that the complicity of “state of the art” calls for more attention from policymakers, educators, business-affiliated bodies, and states clearly that more research is necessary.

Suicides in Penitentiaries and Detention Centres

This article deals with the problem of suicides and self-inflicted injuries in prisons and detention centres. The main aim of the article is an attempt to determine the characteristics of a prisoner who performs self-destructive behavior. The second aim is to get to know better the problems of inmates committing suicides. Knowing these problems will help to find preventive solutions. The article describes the information collected during interviews with 18 people, including: prisoners (women and men), prison chaplains, directors of prisons, officers and employees of penitentiary units.

State of the Art Analysis and Professional Needs Identification in Vocational Training Design for Eurasian Prison Chaplains

Prison chaplaincy in the context of whole penitentiary system has been under continuous change with its ups and downs, criticized and appraised by historians, rejected by secular society, yet appreciated by prisoners, and open for judgment of generations to come. The image of the prison chaplain, who is highly educated, not young, skilled in psychological mastery calls far beyond his pastoral functions for a perfect advocate’s portrait, which is, however, still under reconstruction. The article aims to identify what state of the art of Eurasian prison chaplains is to outline the needs of prison chaplains for the framework development of an e-learning platform that would serve as a prototype of vocational training design. An action research was based on Objective-Oriented Project Planning and Logical Framework Approach concepts and studied the participants from six regions in Eurasia with help of such data collection methods as interviews, diary notes and document analysis. The data of action research formed an accurate civilian and professional profile of a prison chaplain and outlined the requirements to maintain the work in line with the trends in the branch. Findings of the research serve as a ground for organizational, educational, professional and personal changes. Eurasian prison chaplains (national directors) express their professional interests in regular training, professional and career growth, improved job practices and better work environment as they can still be an outstanding example and catalyst of well-being in the life of ex-prisoners.

Review of Vasil’eva S. A. monograph ““I was In prison, and you came to Me...”: the history of the origin of prison service practice in the Protestant tradition and its influence on the course of prison reform in America, Europe and Russia”

The article presents a review on Vasil’eva S.A. monograph ““I was in prison and you came to visit me...”: the history of the origin of prison service practice in the Protestant tradition and its influence on the course of prison reform in America, Europe and Russia» given by Nesterova Olga Ivanovna, DSc (History), senior inspector on special assignments of the division of penal legislation, planning and conducting of official inspections of the Legal Department in the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia. The monograph is devoted to the origin and development of prison service practice in the Protestant tradition and its impact on prison reforms in Europe and America in the XIX century. Through the prism of prison philanthropy societies formation and the Institute of prison chaplains formation in the United Kingdom and the United States, the author explored theological, legal and practical aspects of prison service in the Protestant tradition. Turning to the history of Christian missionaries, who acted long before the penal reforms of the XIX century, the author rethinks the theoretical and methodological content of English penological doctrines. British penitentiary ideology and American practice were extrapolated in the XIX century to all European countries, marking the beginning of the creation of national penitentiary systems in Europe and the Russian Empire. The work analyzes the materials that have not previously been introduced into scientific circulation and not translated into Russian. The monographic study is recommended to historians, theologians, lawyers, specialists in the field of penology, students and graduate students of the Humanities, as well as anyone interested in the history of penitentiary reforms and problems of social history in general.

‘Close confinement tells very much upon a man’: Prison Memoirs, Insanity and the Late Nineteenth- and Early Twentieth-Century Prison

This article explores prisoners’ observations of mental illness in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century British prisons, recorded in memoirs published following their release. The discipline of separate confinement was lauded for its potential to improve prisoners’ minds, inducing reflection and reform, when it was introduced in the 1840s, but in practice led to high levels of mental breakdown. In order to maintain the integrity of the prison system, the prison authorities played down incidences of insanity, while prison chaplains lauded the beneficent influence of cellular isolation. In contrast, as this article demonstrates, prisoners’ memoirs offer insights into the prevalence of mental illness in prison, and its poor management, as well as inmates’ efforts to manage mental distress. As the prison system became more closed, uniform and penal after the 1860s, the volume of such publications increased. Oscar Wilde’s evocative prison writings have attracted considerable attention, but he was only one of many prison authors criticizing the penal system and decrying the damage it inflicted on the mind. Exploration of prison memoirs, it is argued, enhances our understanding of experiences of mental disorder in the underexplored context of the prison, highlighting the prisoners’ voice, agency and advocacy of reform.

Religious Identity and the Long-Term Effects of Religious Involvement, Orientation, and Coping in Prison

Criminological literature has largely ignored the specific religious and spiritual ways people in prison identify and make meaning in their life. Analysis of whether identification predicts recidivism above and beyond criminal risk could have significant implications for assessment and treatment of people in prison. Using data from a Spiritual Assessment of 571 people in prison in Oregon, this study compares recidivism behavior of individuals who identify as both religious and spiritual with those who identify as only spiritual but not religious, religious but not spiritual, and neither spiritual nor religious. As expected, religious and spiritual participants were less likely to reoffend than spiritual but not religious inmates. Group differences were partially explained by intrinsic religious orientation and service attendance. The results highlight the importance of ensuring support for persons in prison in the process of making meaning, in addition to supporting the work of prison chaplains and religious volunteers in prison.