This book explores the role of religion and faith in understanding crime and responses to crime. Religion and faith have been instrumental in the defining of individuals as deviants and/or criminals, the creation and development of legal systems, providing a rationale for penal philosophies and justifying mistreatment or violence. The range of actors and agencies involved, both with a religious or (as is often the case) an anti-religious agenda, make this a complex area to consider, but nevertheless, a vital one when examining issues of crime and criminal justice in the twenty-first century. Religion and matters of faith are still as potent a force in shaping social behaviour and interactions in the contemporary world.
Grace Davie (2013) in the second edition of her book, The Sociology of Religion, notes that across the social sciences (most of which emerged post-European Enlightenment and therefore should be markedly secular) research and debate around the topic of religion is in the ascendance. Davie also supports Habermasās (2006) assertion that all disciplines within the social sciences need to ārethink [their] foundations ā¦ in order to accommodate fully the implications of religion and religious issues in their analyses of modern societiesā; this means āaccepting religion as it is, not as we would like it to beā (Davie 2013, p. xix). While much of ethnocentric Western social science has relegated the issues of religion and faith in society to something which can be viewed as passĆ© and undeserving for ongoing critical inquiry, it has never ceased being important in human society and culture, particularly around issues with implications for criminal justice matters. This is the guiding principle for the contributing chapters which make up this collection. This book interrogates religion as a motivating factor, as well as a means to prevent, reduce and respond to crime and disorder which it explores in a number of ways.
Religion and faith have long been argued to be motivating factors for crime. Historically, debates around this issue have centred on religious oppression, the mistreatment of those who differ or do not comply with the supposed divinely-inspired design and norms. For instance, those with physical or other disabilities have been viewed as a taboo or synonymous with negative forces in Western and other cultures at different points of time, a notion that still informs contemporary thinking on the matter in various ways. In 1999, the England football manager Glenn Hoddle found himself in the centre of a national controversy when he commented during a press conference that disability was often a punishment for sins committed in another life (Arlidge and Wintour 1999). What was particularly surprising about Hoddleās remarks, which reflected his religious convictions, was the disconnect between his comments and how he was widely viewed as a young, very intelligent and forward-thinking individual. The incongruity between the modern and what was viewed as outdated and erroneous notions created a furore which drew government attention and led to Hoddle losing his job.
Religious beliefs have also played an important role in views and responses to matters such as different sexual orientation, and the use of (or delegitimizing of) other non-scientific knowledge systems and paradigms such as witchcraft which is illustrated in the notorious history in Western Christian countries on both sides of the Atlantic. The persecution and injustices done to those accused of practising witchcraft during the seventeenth century gave rise to individuals such as the much-feared Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins and similar figures (Gaskill 2006). While witch hunts are well documented in Western history, the attitudes that inform them have also played an important role in the Southern hemisphere where unfounded accusations can result in death through mob violence (Reisman et al. 2013, p. 11). Some of the explanations regarding this social behaviour are explored by Mbiti (1982) in his examination of precolonial African religious systems and the distinction between good and bad magic and societal responses to them.
While in modern and postmodern secular society concepts such as witchcraft are seen as a throwback to an earlier time, it is still a potent force in many countries and regions of the world. For example, in Tanzania the government was forced to intervene in the large-scale abduction and killing of albino children for ritual sacrifice: such lucrative activity often being linked to organised crime involving the rich and powerful (Beaver 2015; Makoye 2015). In Mexico, the cult of Sante Muerte (often viewed as a cult of evil and death) is closely associated with powerful drug cartels requiring spiritual assistance (News.Com 2014). In both instances the benefits believed to be derived from these activities are increase in the luck, protection and prosperity of those who seek to utilise these ancient belief systems. Any assumption that the types of beliefs that inform this worldview are limited to particular parts of the world is challenged by cases in the USA (Shoichet 2015) and Britain (The Guardian 2014) involving suspected witchcraft which have been associated with other crimes in some instances such as ritualistic sexual child abuse.
Perhaps one of the oldest influences of religion and matters of faith which has marked human society, which is critically examined in various chapters in this book, is its role in contributing to wars, serious civil unrest and violence. As in other areas of life, nothing highlights the complexities and subjectivities of matters of religion and faith to inform social behaviour and institutional responses as the ways these beliefs can legitimise violence against the āunbelieverā or āhereticā. Such violence has been synonymous with the major religions such as Christianity and Islam during different periods of history both as a rationale in terms of conquest and informing judicial systems established to adjudicate over those who do not share the prescribed worldview. This type of thinking is still a feature of many parts of the world today in dealing with those defined as deviant as seen by the actions of extremist groups such as ISIL and similar formations.
Matters around faith and religion can also shape other forms of offending in a variety of ways. The research by Topalli et al. (2012) found many hard-core regular street offenders professed religious belief and identified with various Christian denominations and that it was possible for coexistence between belief systems that acknowledged the existence of a supreme-being or God and predatory criminal behaviour. In many ways this finding is not surprising when placed in a broader historical context where religion has been used to legitimise all forms of violence from rape, torture and the acquisition of the property of others by force. More generally religion and faith have been seen as contributing to greater rule compliance and law-abiding behaviour by most scholars on the subject (Grasmick et al. 1991; Matthews et al. 2011; Piazza 2012).
On the other hand, religious beliefs have been important in generating a respect for human life, seen as divinely inspired, and can manifest in a multitude of ways such as promoting attitudes of forgiveness, peace and reconciliation which can be seen in dedicated publications on this area such as the Journal of Religion, Conflict, and Peace. Religious influences and institutions have historically played a critical role in advancing charitable attitudes towards the poor, disadvantaged and destitute. This is illustrated in the work of one of the important pioneers of early English policing, magistrate John Fielding, brother of Henry Fielding, and his work with destitute youth and young girls, in particular in the establishment of orphanages and other charitable activities to protect the vulnerable and prevent crime (Downie 2009). What is remarkable about Fielding, who speaks about important issues examined by Alan Roulstone in this collection, is that he was blind, but he did not see this as an impediment to his God-given abilities as a man of faith.
The intersectionalities between religious beliefs and other social aspects of identity, such as race/ethnicity, class and gender, have been potent forces in shaping societies, culture and important aspects of global history and the contemporary world and structuring social and political inequalities, the contesting of power and social change. An undeniable dimension of this is how religious beliefs inform and reinforce notions of gender and masculinity in particular and dominant and competing definitions of expected behaviour (Connell 1985). The way gender and religion can be interlinked and can manifest in the processes of dominance or resistance is illustrated in the articulation of what can be defined as muscular masculine religious outlooks, in confronting perceived adversaries, and a range of nationalistic or ethnic narratives. Religious worldviews can inform perceived gendered rights, particularly over others (such as women and children) and matters around heteronormativity (Herek 2004), familial systems and the number of wives males believe they have a right to inter alia. Religious beliefs can also facilitate forms of abuse and criminal behaviour, ranging from spousal violence to sexual abuse, and, as Petterchak highlights in Chap. 12 on North American polygamy, crimes that can include welfare and other forms of financial fraud. In short, religion and faith are not neutral paradigms and can serve existing power inequalities or serve to challenge them.
Another way matters of faith play a vital role in human affairs is in the lives of the dominated and victimised, who are subject to the superior institutional and social power of dominant groups and whose experiences of normal loss, injury or mishap, as in the death of loved ones, poor treatment at work, job loss and long-term unemployment (Essed 1991), can be compounded by their experiences elsewhere, such as victimisation by the police and criminal justice system. Chapter 14 by Bertha Ochieng explores the importance of matters of faith to specific ethnic minority communities and its critical importance to their individual and collective physical and emotional well-being in their day-to-day lives. A related and potentially troubling dimension of this is how the historical experiences of particular groups and the role of religion have structured those communities in representational terms, which is seen in the experiences of postcolonial south Saharan Africans and their descendants and the very prominent and potentially disproportionate role played by religious leaders and their influence in Africa, the Caribbean, and their diasporas (Haskin and Benson 2008; Hackett and Soares 2015). One of the adverse consequences of this highlighted by Stanislas and Iyah (Chap. 15), is the creation of a potentially predatory and self-interested male religious leadership elite in the Marxian sense, which profits from the misery, financial resources, and not uncommonly the bodies of their followers in terms of sexual or extra-marital relations (Nshe 2011; Marie 2014; Akbar 2015; Atlanta Black Star 2014).
Today, we only need to look at the mainstream media for examples of how religion is linked to concerns around international terrorism, hate crime or child abuse to recognise its potency in informing contemporary debates and its enduring legacy in human civilisation and culture. Religion and faith are important motivators for change āof the systemā.The Quakers (Society of Friends), for example, have a long history of activism in prison reform and development of rehabilitation and therapeutic regimes, as well as āof the individualā in terms of identity and/or desistance from crime. Underpinning these contributions to criminal justice matters is a view of human potential rooted in faith about the transformatory attributes believed to be possessed by most if not all individuals. Even in cases of offenders whose behaviours are viewed as beyond redemption, religious-type discourse has been critical in framing how such individuals are perceived as highlighted through the use of terms such as āevilā or ādepravedā which can be found in human cultures around the world at different points of time and utilised in a variety of ways (Romig 2012; Russell 2012). These notions and their legacy have left a lasting impact on criminal justice discourse and practice to this day, and as part of our shared and often unrecognised cultural inheritance.
Despite the centrality of religious and related matters to the origins, development and ideas which inform criminal justice systems in both early and contemporary societies, there is a lack of literature, and books in particular, on this important topic. This is particularly striking given how religion and matters of belief impact on every aspect of criminal justice from the motivations and constraints against offending, the response and understanding or sensitivity of the police, courts and their influence on witnesses, and matters of punishment and governmental attitudes. It is the intention of this collection to bring together emerging and established scholars and practitioners to discuss crime and responses to crime through a religious/faith-based lens drawing on experiences across the globe. For example, chapters describe multifaith responses to crime prevention, the role of faith in prison and the influence of morality in the strengthening of social capital and the maintenance of social order.
Of equal importance is how moral-based arguments rooted in religious doctrine inform social policy debates and conflict with new hegemonic orthodoxy, as illuminated by Whitehead in Chap. 6. The book aims to clearly position religion and faith within āmainstream criminological theoryāāhelping the reader to draw conceptual links, as well as reflect on their own beliefs/identities and how they engage within a multifaith society both domestically and internationally. More practically, the book seeks to contribute to the knowledge base of those engaged in international work or studies where matters around religion and faith are strongly felt and helps to throw light on many of the complexities often involved. For example, religion, ethnicity, regional and tribal affiliation and their intersectionality play an important role in understanding social identity and aspects of behaviour in various p...