Admiration for Islamist groups encourages self-sacrifice through identity fusion

The psychological mechanisms that lead terrorists to make costly sacrifices for their ideological convictions are of great theoretical and practical importance. We investigate two key components of this process: (1) the feeling of admiration toward ingroup members making costly self-sacrifices for their ideological group, and (2) identity fusion with religion. Data collected in 27 Spanish prisons reveal that jihadists’ admiration toward members of radical Islamist groups amplifies their willingness to engage in costly sacrifices for religion in prison. This effect is produced because admiration toward radical Islamist groups has a binding effect, increasing identity fusion with religion. Five additional experiments provide causal and behavioural evidence for this model. By showing that admiration for ingroup members increases identity fusion, which in turn makes individuals prone to engage in costly pro-group behaviours, we provide insights into the emotional machineries of radicalization and open new avenues for prevention strategies to strengthen public safety.

Religion, Rehabilitation, and Reintegration of Prison Inmates Into Mainstream Society

This chapter surveys scholarly works on the extent to which religion influences inmate rehabilitation and reintegration into mainstream society. Apart from conceptual explanations, the empirical reviews add to its analytic claims. This study argues that despite the functions of religion in relation to crime and its pro-social behaviour, its rehabilitation and reintegration function is limited due to the neglected roles of faith communities, families, and other legal institutions. The literature analysis concludes that the efforts to institute religion in prison to reform and rehabilitate inmates are fruitless due to the divergent interests of the actors involved. The religious civil society organisations that participated in convicted prisoner rehabilitation did not show the same interest in their reintegration into mainstream society.

Comparing Recidivism of Sexual and Nonsexual Offenders: The Role of Humanist, Spiritual, and Religious Involvement

Some research has considered whether faith-informed programs help persons with a previous incarceration navigate a life away from crime. Few studies considered whether offense category moderates this relationship. Building upon studies that found a strong association between a prior sexual conviction and participation in religion in prison, we assess whether time spent in humanist, spiritual, and religious (HSR) programs in prison is associated with reconviction, separately for persons convicted of a sex offense and any other offense. Our results revealed that a higher level of participation in HSR programs was associated with a lower likelihood and rate of reconviction; however, this effect was more pronounced for persons with a prior sexual conviction. Supplementary analyses revealed that the use of religion in an extrinsic manner was beneficial, suggesting this group may look to religion to gain social support and overcome rejection and loneliness. Extrinsic religiosity among other groups, however, was associated with an increased risk of reconviction.

Religious Superdiversity and Gray Zones in Public Total Institutions

Out of several years of research experience in the field of religion in prison, this article proposes some reflections on how to consider both a superdiverse situation and power issues in public total institutions. It proposes to use the notion of ‘gray zone,’ which refers to both the fluidity of current religious practices in contrast to a clear-cut distinction between secularity and religion and to an ambiguous positioning of actors in the complex field of institutional power relations. First, the author discusses briefly the structural locations of religion in European public total institutions and the ways these have been studied. Second, the focus shifts to those locations and uses of religion that are informal and that open up what the author calls a ‘gray zone.’ The concluding remarks highlight the complex power issues and relations at work in the realm of such a gray zone.