Prisoners who find God in jail are no less likely to reoffend that those who have a religion, a new study has revealed.
After an analysis of 174 inmates, the study found that religion was not an affective catalyst for rehabilitation.
Iman Said, one of the authors at Pennsylvania State University said other factors such as retraining, having a job and safe accommodation were more significant in reducing reoffending.
“Numerous barriers, including finding and maintaining jobs, securing housing, renewing ties with family and others, prevent religion from effectively supporting the reentry process for many incarcerated men, which can encourage relapse.
“Our findings call into question prison-based religious programmes as the sole way to reduce recidivism and boost post-release success and suggest a lack of a relationship between religious beliefs and recidivism.”
The 174 inmates attended a substance-use disorder programme in prison and were tracked through their time in jail and once released.
Their level of faith was measured through interviews including questions about how many times they participated in religious activities before, during, and after prison.
They also had regular access to faith-based services and a full-time chaplain.
Religion is thought to be seen as a way to help inmates come to terms with their crime, repent and turn their lives around.
However the study suggests once the inmates were released there was no difference in them reoffending compared to non-religious inmates.