Belinda Winder - Sexual Crime, Religion and Spirituality

Sexual Crimeis an edited book series devised by a team at SOCAMRU led by Professor Belinda Winder in the Psychology Division at Nottingham Trent University.

It offers original contributions to specific avenues of research within the field of sexual crime with each volume drawing together a review of the literature from across disciplines, including cutting edge research and practice, original material from services and offenders themselves as well as future directions for research and practice.

These volumes will be highly relevant to clinical and forensic psychologists and therapists, offender managers and supervisors, social workers and those working in the field of rehabilitation. They will be a great source of insight for academics, researchers and students in these disciplines as well as criminologists and policy makers.

More information about this series at http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/15477

Cover illustration: Darren Core/Alamy Stock Photo

This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG

The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland

Since before memory, religion has manifested in cultures around the world. Even with the contemporary debate about just what is meant by faith, spirituality and religion, our society continues to perceive their value. Rising secularization, coincident with dropping congregational affiliation, further confuses consideration of why religion continues to play a significant role. Nevertheless, the health profession, social agencies, and governmental bodies all continue to turn to religion to do its part in the work of their respective fields.

Winder has admirably taken on the difficult topic of the intersection of religion and sexual crime, assembling a collection which addresses far-ranging issues, from the sectarian history of prison chaplaincy, to the impact of religion on rehabilitation, models of intervention, the spiritual anxiety experienced by survivors of sexual crime, and the proper role of religion in the Criminal Justice System. Most notable are the chapters about two of the most contentious problems of our time. One of these is the continuing drama of exposure of sexual abuse by religious perpetrators. The other problem is how to accommodate a faith, like Islam, which has been used by extremists to recruit within correctional institutions.

Recognizing the importance of religion and spirituality to those facing crisis, the American Red Cross has in recent years added a function to its disaster services called Disaster Spiritual Care (DSC). DSC works closely with health and mental health services, a distinct recognition that none of these is fully efficacious in isolation. Similarly, a correctional policy which assumes responsibility for the physical health and safety of the incarcerated should also recognize spiritual care as integral.

As prison populations grow and age, there is a corresponding need to understand the important interrelation of CJS concerns with the spiritual needs of not only inmates, but also crime victims, parolees and staff. Through the lens of dynamic and changing religious landscapes, we can return to the vision of early penal reformers who had faith that in nurturing the souls of offenders, society could be a safer, and ultimately stronger.