Why God Is Often Found Behind Bars: Prison Conversions and the Crisis of Self-Narrative

Groups’ search for meaning: Redemption on the path to intergroup reconciliation

“…To our knowledge, no studies, experimental or otherwise, have discerned the effects of meaning-making on the willingness of members of perpetrator groups to reconcile with or provide reparations to the victimized group. Considered in conjunction with Maruna and colleagues' (Maruna, 2001;Maruna et al, 2006) work with criminal offenders, Updegraff et al's (2008) study suggests that collective meaning-making could support members of perpetrator groups engaging in behaviors that promote intergroup reconciliation. Potentially, perpetrator group members who perceive ingroup redemption, such as lessons learned or wrongdoing catalyzing a positive change in ingroup character or mission (such as in Schulz's comments), may respond to past ingroup wrongdoing prosocially, expressing guilt, offering reparations, and taking reconciliatory action.…”

Narrative change, narrative stability, and structural constraint: The case of prisoner reentry narratives

“…This conception of narrative is consistent with prior research on the narratives of those involved in the criminal justice system (Maruna 2001, Giordano et al 2002). For example, one can see a similar set of narrative elements in Maruna et al’s (2006) analysis of prison conversion narratives, which include an account of past experiences and behaviors, an explanation of the moment of change, and plans for the future. Similarly, Comfort (2012) describes how young men recently released from prison interpret their prison experiences in a forward-looking way, as preparing them for their future lives.…”

“…The literature on religious conversion, for example, shows the importance of key moments of crisis for identity reconstruction (e.g. Snow and Machalek 1984, Maruna, Wilson, and Curran 2006, Yang and Abel 2014), the role of social relationships in conversion (e.g. Lofland and Stark 1965, Snow and Machalek 1984), the role of institutional templates in guiding the conversion process (Snow and Machalek 1984), and the “biographical reconstruction” that accompanies religious identity change (Snow and Machalek 1983).…”

“…Prison is often a time for reflection, as prisoners try to make sense of the course their lives have taken, the consequences of their incarceration, and how to change their lives (Comfort 2012). Incarceration can be a catalyst for identity reconstruction, as “prisoners … face a crisis of self-narrative” due to the social and psychological trauma of separation from others and the prison environment (Maruna et al 2006: 168). Individuals exiting prison and re-entering free society likewise grapple with their past, present and future.…”

Religious Diversity in European Prisons

“…The changes in individual identity overlap with institutional changes. I shall here consider a conversion, as suggested by Maruna et al (2006), as a reinterpretation of "one's autobiography" or an experience of "change in subjectivity." More specifically, "prison conversion narratives [are] an example of narrative identity change … narrative redefinition and reflexivity are exaggerated for religious converts because they are constantly being asked and expected to "give witness" to their experience of how they have changed" (Maruna et al 2006, p. 163).…”