Item Details

abstract

The United States currently incarcerates more people than any other industrialized country in the world and the numbers continue to rise. Nearly every United States prison offers religious programs, mostly through volunteer work, and studies suggest that these programs are temporarily effective. While such programs have not been empirically proven to prevent recidivism in the long term, spirituality can help prisoners adjust to life in prison and often provides meaning and hope for re-entry in society. This thesis explores the motives underlying spiritual transformation. Interviews were conducted at the Darryl Hunt Project (DHP) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and three motives were identified: survival, social influences, and personal reasons. Paralleling Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, these three categories represent needs that are fulfilled through increased spirituality. The personal experiences of four famous men who were formerly imprisoned are compared with the interviews conducted at DHP, further illuminating the complexities underlying spiritual transformation among prisoners.

subject

Religion

Prison

contributor

Placer, Meredith (author)

Gunkel, Steven (committee chair)

Hattery, Angela (committee member)

Yamane, David (committee member)

date

2009-05-14T15:43:12Z (accessioned)

2010-06-18T18:57:26Z (accessioned)

2009-05-14T15:43:12Z (available)

2010-06-18T18:57:26Z (available)

2009-05-14T15:43:12Z (issued)

degree

MALS (Liberal Studies) (discipline)

identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/10339/14693 (uri)

language

en_US (iso)

publisher

Wake Forest University

rights

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide. (accessRights)

title

Spiritual Transformation in Prison

type

Thesis