Religion and Rehabilitation as Moral Reform: Conceptualization and Preliminary Evidence.

ABSTRACT: We examine how religion contributes to rehabilitation, which we conceptualize as moral reform and operationalize in terms of self-identity, existential belief, and character. We hypothesize that religion contributes to identity transformation, a sense of meaning and purpose in life, and virtue development. We also hypothesize that faith-based rehabilitation reduces negative emotions and the risk of interpersonal aggression. We conducted a quasi-experiment on a faith-based program in a state jail and a maximum-security prison in Texas, using a convenience sample of male inmates. To test our hypotheses, we compare inmates who graduated the program with those who did not and applied manifest-variable structural equation modeling to analyze data from pretest and posttest surveys. Program parti

SUBMITTER: Jang SJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9748388 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature