Prison chaplains: Ministry crucial to rehabilitation
Photographer: WEWS
Copyright 2011 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Posted: 03/23/2012
WASHINGTON - Prison chaplains in a nationwide survey overwhelmingly say "access to quality religion-related programs" is essential to the rehabilitation of inmates before and after their release into society.
The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life questioned more than 700 prison chaplains in all 50 states.
Tom O'Connor, who has overseen chaplain ministries for the Oregon Department of Corrections, says they play a key role in curing the anti-social attitudes that lead to recidivism.
Three-fourths of the chaplains surveyed said it's common to see prisoners trying to convert one another, and that those who change religions are about equally likely to become either Muslims or Protestant Christians.
More than 40 percent of the chaplains said religious extremism is common in prisons, particularly among Muslim inmates and to a lesser degree among those who follow "pagan or earth-based religions."
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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