Interrogating religion in prison: Criminological approaches

A preliminary exploration of the contemporary literature on imprisonment and religion suggests three dominant themes: role/effectiveness; risk/security, and human rights. While these themes are interconnected, the literature is broadly characterised by competing and contradictory research questions and conclusions. When taken together, this body of criminological work offers a complex but partial account of the role of religion in contemporary prisons which does not appear to engage with questions about how the provision of religious services is mediated by local prison governance structures.