REL 3312 - Religion and American Prisons

Credits: 4
This is survey course that explores the relationship between religion, prisons, and crime in American history. We first explore punishment and penology in the early modern era, when the civil government rarely incarcerated people for extended periods of time. We then examine the larger intellectual and theological trends that created political and social spaces for the modern penitentiary, where religious socialization became a staple inside this new institution. For the remainder of the semester, we explore major trends in prison religion, focusing specifically on religion in the era of mass incarceration. Our studies intersect with
the study of religion and law, as the relationship between religion and prison is inseparably tethered to legal considerations.

McDaniel Plan: Multicultural and Social, Cultural, Historical Understanding