Religion as an organizing principle in Ankaful maximum security prison, Ghana

Abstract

In the field of penology, very few studies have paid attention to the role of religion in prison. The sparse scholarly studies are largely focused on the advanced countries, and rarely on prisons in Africa. In addition, the findings of the impact of religion on inmates have yielded mixed results. This study examined the de facto religious pursuits of inmates in attempts to cope with imprisonment, and at selfreformation for possible reintegration. The study was underpinned by social constructionist theory of reality and some functionalists’ perspectives on religion. The study settled on mixed method approach to data collection. The semi-structured questionnaire data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences software. The transcripts of the in-depth interviews were also analyzed thematically using the Google Docs word search tool. The study found that while Ankaful Maximum Security Prison (AMSP) has been successful in its mandate of imprisoning convicts, the institution has failed in the rehabilitation and resocialization of inmates. These shortcomings, unwittingly, have given way to the various certified religious Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to operate supportive and religious functions in the prison. Evidently, not all inmates who participated in religious activities did so necessarily for redemption but for materialism. In addition, religion was seen as a means by which inmates were restoring their “spoiled identities”, and conducting their impression management. For ex-convicts, their experiences of re-joining their families and faith communities were antithetical to what they expected upon discharge. A collaborative project by all religious CSOs to establish a sorely needed transition home to ease ex-convicts into the community is recommended.