Piety in Prison
An Enthnography of Religion in the Correctional Environment
Published by UMI Dissertation Information Service, 300 N.Zeeb Rd. Ann Arbor, MI 48106. Copyright 1992 by Harry R. Dammer. All Rights reserved. Order number 9227548.
The following is the abstract and table of contents from the author's dissertation written as partial requirement for the doctoral degree from Rutgers - The State University of NJ, Newark, 1992.
This dissertation employed participant observation and intensive interviews to describe the meaning of religion in the correctional setting. The research was conducted in two large maximum security prisons for men, located in the northeast United States, both with an active group of religious inmates.
From the participant observation phase, questions and theoretical propositions were developed for the intensive interviews. Global sorting was employed to develop the interview questions while purposive sampling was used to obtain a cross-section of participating and non-religious respondents.
The study produced two types of data: field notes and intensive interview transcripts. The field notes were developed into a descriptive ethnography about the two prison programs. The intensive interviews were analyzed using content analysis and the constant comparison method. They revealed four recurring themes: the process of becoming a religious inmate, the reasons why inmates become involved with religion, the lifestyle of the religious inmate, and the relationships integral to those involved with religion in prison.
The findings also suggest that there is variation in the way inmates act or respond to religious involvement while in prison. The inmates may be acting out one or any combination of five Religious Response Styles: "Sincere," "Trying," "Fronter," "Occasional," or "Monastic." Finally, a preliminary theory of the meaning of religion in the correctional environment is proposed.
TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR PIETY IN PRISON
By Harry R. Dammer, Ph.D.
| Chapter Title / Subtopic |
Page
|
| CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION |
1
|
| The Problem |
1
|
| Review of Literature |
4
|
| Conceptualization |
15
|
| CHAPTER 2: METHOD AND ANALYSIS |
25
|
| Research Problems |
25
|
| Approach to Research Problems |
25
|
| Sample |
31
|
| Research Setting |
35
|
| Sources of Data |
37
|
| Participant Observation |
37
|
| Recording Field Notes |
45
|
| Intensive Interviews |
48
|
| Recording Intensive Interviews |
55
|
| Supplemental Information |
58
|
| Reliability and Validity of Data |
58
|
| Reliability and Validity of Participant Observation Data |
60
|
| Reliability and Validity of Intensive Interview Data |
63
|
| Phases of Data Collection |
70
|
| Data Analysis Procedures |
72
|
| CHAPTER 3: RELIGIOUS PROGRAMS |
79
|
| Eastern and Western Prison |
79
|
| Religious Programs at Western |
84
|
| Catholic |
91
|
| Protestant |
97
|
| Muslim |
103
|
| Jewish |
108
|
| Supplemental Programs |
110
|
| Religious Programs at Eastern |
114
|
| Catholic |
116
|
| Protestant |
117
|
| CHAPTER 4: RECURRING THEMES |
124
|
| Presentation of Results |
124
|
| The Process of Becoming a Religious Inmate |
126
|
| Background |
127
|
| How Inmates First Become Involved with Religion |
132
|
| Timing |
137
|
| The Reasons for Religious Involvement |
142
|
| Sincere (Intrinsic) Reasons for Religious Involvement |
147
|
| Insincere (Extrinsic) Reasons for Religious Involvement |
150
|
| Protection |
151
|
| Inmate Convergence |
159
|
| Women Volunteers |
166
|
| Prison Resources |
168
|
| The Lifestyle of the Religious Inmate |
190
|
| Determination of Sincerity |
191
|
| Actions |
193
|
| Actions Avoided |
198
|
| The Relationships Important to the Religious Inmate |
207
|
| Chaplain--Religious Inmate |
208
|
| Religious Inmate--Religious Inmate |
217
|
| Religious Inmate--Correctional Officer |
221
|
| Religious Inmate--Non-Religious Inmate |
228
|
| Religious Inmate--Volunteer |
229
|
| Religious Response Styles |
235
|
| The "Sincere" |
238
|
| The "Fronter" |
240
|
| The "Trying" |
241
|
| The "Occasional" |
243
|
| The "Monastic" |
245
|
| CHAPTER 5: TOWARDS A THEORY OF THE MEANING OF RELIGION IN THE CORRECTIONAL ENVIRONMENT |
249
|
| CHAPTER 6: IMPLICATIONS, SUMMARY, AND CONCLUSIONS |
269
|
| Implications of the Dissertation |
269
|
| Summary and Recommendations for Future Research |
291
|
| APPENDICES |
294
|
| BIBLIOGRAPHY |
307
|