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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 9:44 pm
Time: 9:44 pm
Results for religion and crime
3 results foundAuthor: Johnson, Byron R. Title: Objective Hope: Assessing the Effectiveness of Faith-Based Organizations: A Review of the Literature Summary: Faith-based organizations (FBOs) have been part of public life for decades, but the dialogue has recently taken on a new and higher public profile. By some estimates, FBOs provide $20 billion of privately contributed funds to social service delivery for over 70 million Americans annually. While there is an impressive and mounting body of evidence that higher levels of religious practices or involvement (organic religion) are linked to reductions in various harmful outcomes, there is little published research evaluating the effectiveness of faith-based organizations (intentional religion). Faith-based organizations (fFBO) have been part of public life for decades, but the dialogue has recently taken on a new and higher public profile. By some estimates, FBOs provide $20 billion of privately contributed funds to social service delivery for over 70 million Americans annually. While there is an impressive and mounting body of evidence that higher levels of religious practices or involvement (organic religion) are linked to reductions in various harmful outcomes, there is little published research evaluating the effectiveness of faith-based organizations (intentional religion). bring some clarity to this area, we first review and assess in summary fashion, 669 studies of organic religion, and discuss how the conclusions from this body of research are relevant and directly related to the research on faith-based interventions. In sum, there are two broad conclusions from this review of research on organic religion: (1.) research on religious practices and health outcomes indicates that higher levels of religious involvement are associated with: reduced hypertension, longer survival, less depression, lower levels of drug and alcohol use and abuse, less promiscuous sexual behaviors, reduced likelihood of suicide, lower rates of delinquency among youth, and reduced criminal activity among adults. This review provides overwhelming evidence that higher levels of religious involvement and practices make for an important protective factor that buffers or insulates individuals from deleterious outcomes. (2.) research on religious practices and various measures of well-being reveal that higher levels of religious involvement are associated with increased levels of: well-being, hope, purpose, meaning in life, and educational attainment. This review of studies on organic religion documents that religious commitment or practices make for an important factor promoting an array of prosocial behaviors and thus enhancing various beneficial outcomes. This study also reviewed research on intentional religion and uncovered a total of 97 studies that examine the diverse interventions of religious groups, congregations, or faith-based organizations. Twenty-five of these 97 studies specifically examined some efficacy aspect of faith-based organizations, programs, or initiatives. The current study critically assesses these studies and documents that research on faith-based organizations: (1.) is much less common than research on organic religion. (2.) relies too heavily upon research utilizing qualitative approaches such as case studies and too little upon quantitative methodologies that emphasize rigorous and outcome-based research designs. (3.) often reflects a general naivete with regard to measuring the "faith" in faith-based. (4.) yields basic, preliminary, but almost uniformly positive evidence supporting the notion that faith-based organizations are more effective in providing various services. (5.) is long overdue and funding from both public and private sources should be allocated immediately for rigorous research and evaluations of faith-based organizations, interventions, and initiatives. Details: Waco, TX: Baylor University, Institute for Studies of Religion, 2008. 76p. (Originally published: 2002) Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 14, 2014 at: http://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php/24809.pdf Year: 2008 Country: United States URL: http://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php/24809.pdf Shelf Number: 131916 Keywords: Faith-Based GroupsRehabilitationReligionReligion and Crime |
Author: Petrie, Dennis Title: Interface of Churches and Organised Crime in Latin America Summary: Structural violence – in its diverse forms – has become one of the main concerns for Latin American citizens and their governments. Its effects are clearly visible in a number of Latin American countries (mainly Mexico, the Northern Triangle of Central America and Colombia), corrupting government institutions and distorting the overall functioning of society by creating a culture of fear and impunity. In other countries (Costa Rica, Panama, Andes, Southern Cone), organized crime is less visible but still present. "Organised crime" is an umbrella term that includes a broad range of illegal and criminal activities and organisations. In Latin America, organised crime groups - ranging from youth gangs to paramilitary organisations - operate in transnational networks, consisting of professionally organized chains of violence and terror. These organisations are generally not ideological but driven by drug trafficking and to a lesser extent dedicated to other forms of criminal activity such as arms trafficking, human trafficking, extortions, hired killings, kidnappings etc. Faced with the growing influence of organised crime in society, churches should not remain silent. The Gospel teaches the pursuit of public justice and the transformation of society through the love of Christ as leading principles for the social involvement of Jesus' disciples. This world view radically contradicts the logics and dynamics of organised crime. Yet, the actual response and attitude of church leaders and their members to organised crime has scarcely been investigated. At this moment there are no comprehensive studies on the relationship between organised crime in Latin America and the churches. It is not clear to what extent the churches actually constitute a threat to organised crime. The objective of this report is to contribute to the understanding of the influence of (the constellation of) organised crime groups on the functioning of the churches. Specifically, this report will seek to give answers to the following questions: 1. In which countries in Latin America is organised crime remarkably present? Specify also specific regions within the countries. 2. What is known in literature about tensions or conflicts between churches (leaders, members) and organised crime groups? 3. Are pastors or church members afraid to address issues related to practices of organised crime groups and their allies in society or in public? 4. Are pastors or church members afraid to address issues related to practices of organised crime groups and their allies within their churches? In order to respond to these questions, this report will firstly give a general description of the context of organised crime in Latin America (I., research question 1). Subsequently, an analysis will be made of the relationship between churches and their members, and organised crime groups (II., research questions 3-4), followed by a descriptive survey of the available literature on the topic (III., research question 2). Finally, a number of conclusions will be formulated (IV.). Being a desk research, this report is only an initial effort to broach the complex issue of the relationship between churches and organised crime. Its main sources are literature research, complemented by interviews. The interviews turned out to be the most valuable source of information, since literature on the topic is scarce. There are virtually no analytical reports on the impact of organised crime on churches. The only information that can be found are compilations of testimonies, but no in depth studies of the social, political and cultural dynamics of persecution in areas affected by organised crime Details: s.l.: Open Doors, 2012. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 27, 2017 at: http://theanalytical.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Interface-of-Churches-and-Organised-Crime-in-Latin-America-2012.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Latin America URL: http://theanalytical.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Interface-of-Churches-and-Organised-Crime-in-Latin-America-2012.pdf Shelf Number: 144586 Keywords: ChurchesOrganized CrimeReligion and Crime |
Author: Arooj Title: Faith, Family and Crime: An exploration of Muslim families' involvement with the Criminal Justice System and its impact on their health and social needs Summary: There has been little or no research undertaken either locally or nationally to assess the extent and nature of these aspects or, indeed, to address the specific needs of Muslim offenders' families and the impact of the CJS on their health and social needs. This is also reflected in a recent Ministry of Justice report (Shingler and Pope 2018), which analysed a large number of studies to review the effectiveness of rehabilitative services for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people: They found that "the search process yielded 3,101 studies, of which only 11 (below 0.5%) were of sufficient relevance and methodological rigour for inclusion. Similarly, criminological writing about race and ethnicity in the CJS has tended to focus on "trying to explain the over-representation of Black men in the CJS" (Parmar 2016, p. 2), rather than addressing the complex ways in which "race, gender, class and generation interact and enmesh in the context of crime and punishment". This "intersectional" approach to considering the needs of the families concerned provides a useful framework within which to analyse the data collected for this project and through which to identify those findings that highlight where Muslim families have the greatest levels of need. According to the Prison Reform Trust (2017) the number of Muslim prisoners has doubled since 2002 and represents 15% of the current prison population. Muslims are significantly over-represented within the prison population, yet Muslims represent just 4% of the general population in the United Kingdom (Office for National Statistics [ONS] 2016). Reviews and research studies undertaken nationally in the past few years, (such as The Lammy Report, 2017; The Young Review Report, 2014) have highlighted that the problems arising from this over-representation of minority ethnic groups in prisons is far greater amongst certain BAME groups than is reflected in their uptake of support services. The main aims of this research project were: 1. To investigate the extent to which a family member's involvement with the Criminal Justice System (CJS) affects Muslim families and their social and health needs. The areas explored range across: - the attitudes of Muslim families towards offenders/ex-offenders in their household; - some of the barriers faced by Muslim families in accessing mainstream support services; - the role of Muslim families and faith organisations in supporting offenders/ex-offenders. 2. The findings to benefit Muslim families and policy makers through providing an increased understanding of: - how involvement with the CJS affects relationships within the family (nuclear and extended) and the wider community; the underlying issues that affect - different family members (particularly partners and children) and the levels of awareness, amongst Muslim families, of the support services that are available to them. Details: London; Barrow Cadbury Trust; Lancashire, AROOJ, 2018. 42p., ex. summary Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 20, 2018 at: https://www.barrowcadbury.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Arooj-Faith-Family-and-Crime-2.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.barrowcadbury.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Arooj-Faith-Family-and-Crime-2.pdf Shelf Number: 153512 Keywords: Ethnic MinoritiesFamilies and CrimeMinorities and CrimeMuslimsReligion and Crime |