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Virtuous Effects Found on Prisoner's Mental Health
After Religion Participation
NEWS PROVIDED BY
Prison Fellowship
International
May 22, 2023
WASHINGTON, May 22, 2023 /Christian
Newswire/ -- A
new Baylor University study provides evidence of the virtuous effects of
religion on mental health among prisoners, affirming the mission of
Prison Fellowship
International's (PFI) in-prison program, The Prisoner's Journey® (TPJ).
"This study confirms what we have believed for a long time," said David Van
Patten, Chief Operating Officer of PFI. "That a prisoner's involvement in
religious programming has a transformative effect on their beliefs, attitudes
and behavior. Now we have empirical evidence that prisoners are becoming less
violent and exercising greater self-control through programs like PFI's around
the world."
The study, conducted in Monteria Prison, Colombia, found that prisoner
participation in religious programs and practices leads to the development of
positive virtues including forgiveness, self-control and gratitude as well as a
reduction in anger, depression and anxiety. Findings also included the inverse
relationship between the virtues and the negative emotional states, both other-
and self-directed.
"This study contributes to the criminal justice literature by adding positive
evidence of the virtuous effect of religion on mental health among incarcerated
individuals," said Dr. Sung Joon Jang, research professor of criminology and
co-director of the Program on Prosocial Behavior at Baylor University's
Institute for Studies of Religion (ISR). "We found that both public and private
religious behaviors were positively associated with the virtues."
These results replicate other studies conducted by Jang and Baylor ISR on TPJ.
Designed to transform the lives of prisoners by introducing them to restorative
principles taught by Jesus, who was also a prisoner, TPJ is centered on the book
of Mark in the Bible and is facilitated by trained inmates or volunteers.
Jang and Baylor University's Dr. Byron Johnson's first phase of their
longitudinal evaluation of TPJ has been completed and published in 2021. A new
multi-year, quasi-experimental study of Prison Fellowship International's
program will kick off later this year.
About Prison Fellowship International
Since 1979, PFI has helped prisoners experience transformation from the inside
out through the healing power of the Gospel. Its mission is to transform the
lives of prisoners, their families and victims through a global network of
ministry partners. Learn more at pfi.org.
SOURCE Prison Fellowship International
CONTACT: Ella Cueva, 703-554-8670,
ecueva@pfi.org