RELIGION IN PRISON. SOME RESULTS FROM RESEARCH IN A ROMANIAN MAXIMUM SAFETY PENITENTIARY

The prisoners’ religious practices have become an important study topic to the extent that they can have consequences for personal change or social integration of those in a prison environment. Various research has identified for example the increase of the prosocial behaviours of those imprisoned in direct connection with religious belief or even the religious conversion. A significant influence can have religious services in prisons as well as the constant presence of priests among detainees. In this article, we present a series of data observed in exploratory research carried out in a maximum safety penitentiary from Romania. The research aimed to identify the practices and level of religiosity of detainees according to the gravity of the acts committed and to what extent they are appealing to the services of priests and psychologists.