Punishment, Prison and the Clergy: A Social Psychological Perspective

This book applies the social and psychological methods to the study of the clergy’s work in Swedish prisons. The author’s goal is to provide an interesting and comprehensive perspective of the clergy’s work in the public prisons. The focus throughout is on the meaning the clergy’s traditional functions provide for the prison inmates of today’s world. Drawing from theoretical works of famous pastoral psychologists and pastoral care specialists, as well as the more empirical works of his own the author develops a model of different manners of carrying out the care in the prisons. He explores the historical origins of pastoral care and the manner the care methods can be utilised to help the prisons from different cultural backgrounds. How does the clergy able to help the prisoner deal with his hunting guilt? The study, in answering these questions, provides occasions where the inmates themselves reflect on their experiences with the clergy who they so much admire.