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FORGIVENESS AND FUNDAMENTALISM: RECONSIDERING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CORRECTIONAL ATTITUDES AND RELIGION *
Author(s) -
APPLEGATE BRANDON K.,
CULLEN FRANCIS T.,
FISHER BONNIE S.,
VEN THOMAS VANDER
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
criminology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.467
H-Index - 139
eISSN - 1745-9125
pISSN - 0011-1384
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-9125.2000.tb00904.x
Subject(s) - forgiveness , conceptualization , punitive damages , fundamentalism , social psychology , psychology , criminology , sociology , political science , politics , law , artificial intelligence , computer science
Although research typically has failed to establish a relationship between religious affiliation and correctional attitudes, recent assessments have revealed that fundamentalist Christians tend to be more punitive than are nonfundamentalists. These studies have advanced our understanding considerably, but their conceptualization of religion and correctional attitudes has been limited. Using a statewide survey, the present study demonstrates that compassionate as well as fundamentalist aspects of religious beliefs are related to public correctional preferences. Further, our results reveal that religion influences support for rehabilitation as well as punitiveness. These findings suggest the need for scholars to think more broadly about the role of religion in criminology.