Ministering behind bars
The religious leaders working to rehabilitate prisoners through faith.
Can the prison be a 鈥渃itizen factory鈥 where the rebellious soul goes in and comes out as a demure, indoctrinated model citizen? Is the God of Punishment the same as the God of Salvation? How do priests, imams and rabbis work with inmates who wish to return to faith?
Lipika Pelham examines whether the Foucauldian phrase 鈥渟oul is the prison of the body鈥 offers a guideline to the modern criminal system for its rehabilitation programme. Traditionally, religious beliefs have inclined to the opposite, that the body imprisons the soul. Earlier ways of dealing with outlaws often involved extreme physical stress to achieve the docility of the body. This was believed to be the key to making prisoners conform to social norms and become good citizens. Lipika asks representatives of major world religions if they think the pathway to correction is through faith. She hears conversations between an inmate and his Christian worker; reflections of a rabbi, an imam, and a Buddhist meditation teacher about their methods to stop offenders from committing further crimes.
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'I had to daily surrender every urge I had鈥
Duration: 03:32
Broadcasts
- Fri 11 Jun 2021 03:32GMT91热爆 World Service except Australasia, East Asia & South Asia
- Fri 11 Jun 2021 04:32GMT91热爆 World Service Australasia, South Asia & East Asia only
- Fri 11 Jun 2021 12:32GMT91热爆 World Service Americas and the Caribbean, East and Southern Africa, South Asia, West and Central Africa & East Asia only
- Sat 12 Jun 2021 15:32GMT91热爆 World Service News Internet
- Sun 13 Jun 2021 08:32GMT91热爆 World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Sun 13 Jun 2021 09:32GMT91热爆 World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
- Sun 13 Jun 2021 18:32GMT91热爆 World Service Australasia, UK DAB/Freeview & Online only
- Sun 13 Jun 2021 22:32GMT91热爆 World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Sun 13 Jun 2021 23:32GMT91热爆 World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
Podcast
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Heart and Soul
Personal approaches to religious belief from around the world.