Analiza zróżnicowania stopnia spójności przekonań religijnych w grupie młodocianych przestępców
An Analysis of the Differences in the Degree of Consistency of Religious Beliefs in a Group of Juvenile Offenders

Summary/Abstract: The majority of the Polish people consider themselves to be Catholic and they claim to cherish the traditions of their forefathers, based on pro- social values. If so – given such a high percentage of righteous people, who are eager to help others and approach others (‘fellow human beings’) with empathy and compassion – where do a variety of offenders come from? Why is the Christian faith not a factor which – as such – may prevent be- lievers from committing misdemeanours, as well as control and correct so- cially unacceptable behaviour?There is a growing number of scientific publications on the offenders’ attitudes to religious practices. People sentenced to imprisonment are classi- fied using different criteria and then the percentage is determined of those who take part in religious services. Then the offences the convicts have committed are matched with the degree of intensity of their religious beliefs. The attitudes to the faith, as declared by the offenders, are frequently very different from their manifest behaviour.Juvenile offenders – probably due to the lack or inadequate internalisa- tion of the values appreciated by the society – undergo a religious crisis. I assume that this results from, inter alia, the upbringing model indirectly referred to in the respondents’ statements. The lack of the possibility to get an insight into one’s own self or to examine ones’ conscience with the use of a religious doctrine makes it easier for the convicts to resort to a wide range of excuses which ensure their internal equilibrium.It turns out that the ‘deficit of fear’ or a certain internal drive or tempta- tion, which are manifest in the majority of offenders, make it easier for them to embark on socially risky behaviour (J. Zieliński, 2004). My search for the answers to the foregoing questions leads to a conviction that it is necessary to conduct an analysis of the aforesaid religious attitudes in terms of their consistency. Such a research procedure has also been proposed by W. Chaim (1991).

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