People say that society is becoming less religious and that the strength of the church is weakening. To be honest, I don’t have access to the statistics to back up that view but I do believe that it’s true. However, attendance at religious observance in prison is very popular so I wonder why this is so. Are prisoners more religious than most?

I guess the key question is, why do people attend a church and what do they get out of it?

The Daily Mail would say that society is collapsing and that “family” has lost its integrity. I’m not at all sure I agree because especially after COVID, I’m aware of many more narratives of altering work balance to improve family lives. So many TV programmes and articles are looking at a simpler life and closer contact with family so I’m wondering if there is a problem with ethical frameworks. I suspect if you were to have a poll, the majority of people wold describe themselves as “ethical” but if you were to ask them to outline their ethics, I suspect many people would struggle.

Now, by definition, if you engage in criminal activity then you have a question mark over your ethics so it may be fair to suggest that a population of convicted criminals is more in need of ethical reprogramming than other. Is that why prisoners attend church? Because they are so self-aware and have such a high level of emotional intelligence that they opt in to ethical improvement? I doubt that, therefore my question is still unanswered; why do prisoners go to church?

On Channel 4’s Banged Up, one of the guards suggested religious ceremonies were a double edge sword because some prisoners attend church to pass drugs and other contraband (I reckon that probably does happen) and it’s true that this is an opportunity to get out of a cell. If you were locked in a tiny brick box for 23 hours a day then you’d probably sign up for anything to get out for half an hour or so.

Occasionally, prisoners “get” something at church like a selection box at Christmas or a pack with a book or CD so maybe that’s a reason people go.

I imagine one of the main reasons prisoners attend church is that it is a pleasant place to be. The actual environment is nice, calm and tranquil as the minister creates a warmth which is lovely, especially comparing it to the rest of life behind bars.

In church, you don’t get verbally abused. It is a positive place to be, the narratives are of hope and it is a kind and safe location and it’s difficult not to be inspired to take time to consider the skilful words you hear from the presenter. It offers a stability, a grounding and I think, for many, the message of forgiveness is very important.

I do wonder if religious observance in prison is so popular because the rest of prison life is so horrific ie it isn’t that the church is particularly attractive but that everything else is so bad because I promise you, everything else is really, really, really bad. Maybe it’s that contrast between everyday life and the church so on the outside, because everyday life is better than it was fifty years ago, attendance at church has dropped while in here everyday life hasn’t improved.

Maybe prisoners are desperately but metaphorically calling out for respite from the mental torture and they get that from the church. Because in church, for that half hour, you are a person again, not a number.

NaN.