Institutional Resistance to Religious Diversity in Prisons: Comparative Reflections Based on Studies in Eastern Germany, Italy and Switzerland

In: International journal of politics, culture and society, Band 28, Heft 1, S. 5-19

Abstract

This article explores the way in which prison institutions resist to religious diversity in three national contexts: Italy, Germany and Switzerland. The author observes a phenomenon which contributes to this resistance and that she calls 'institutional neutralisation of Christianity'. Although they are secular state institutions, prisons' profound Christian heritage impacts at a variety of levels beyond their chaplaincies. With the help of Durkheim's and Foucault's contributions on punishment, the author identifies in the punishment-rehabilitation complex a mediator of this Christian heritage contributing to its institutional neutralisation. An illustration of these theoretical insights by empirical observation concludes the article. Adapted from the source document.