Religious Rehabilitation in Corrections

Abstract

Re-offending is one of the primary problems faced by offenders exiting the correctional system in America today. High rates of re-offending, otherwise known as recidivism, contribute to the effects of churning wherein offenders become entrenched in their criminal lifestyles and cycle in and out of incarceration. Rehabilitation and re-entry programs offer a certain degree of promise in reducing recidivism among program participants. Religious programs in particular possess a vast number of resources that allow them to deliver a high standard programming. This presentation outlines the use of multivariate statistics to measure correlations between religious rehabilitation and re-incarceration to identify whether these programs are effective in reducing recidivism. Additionally, religious programs are also compared to non-religious rehabilitation programs to determine if there are specific aspects of these religious programs that have unique or differing effects in their ability to reduce recidivism.

Faculty Mentor: Michael Seredycz

Department: Sociology (Honours)