Persistent high levels of crime in this country have provided support for the need for public programs that help in reducing crime rates through effective interventions. Spirituality and religion are considered to play a major part in determining an individual's attitude towards committing a crime. This study analyzed if inmates in State and Federal prisons in the US are involved in prison religious activities and personal prayers in order to determine if criminality (measured by offense type) of inmates affects their participation in religious activities. Based on logistic regression analysis, gender, race, and marital status of inmates were found to be significant predictors of inmates' religious participation. Offense type was not a significant predictor in determining inmates' participation in religious activities. The study shows up to 60% of the inmates participate in some kind of religious activity. The implications for further research are discussed along with the potential for further evaluation of the relationship between religion and crime.
","abstract_html":"<p>Persistent high levels of crime in this country have provided support for the need for public programs that help in reducing crime rates through effective interventions. Spirituality and religion are considered to play a major part in determining an individual's attitude towards committing a crime. This study analyzed if inmates in State and Federal prisons in the US are involved in prison religious activities and personal prayers in order to determine if criminality (measured by offense type) of inmates affects their participation in religious activities. Based on logistic regression analysis, gender, race, and marital status of inmates were found to be significant predictors of inmates' religious participation. Offense type was not a significant predictor in determining inmates' participation in religious activities. The study shows up to 60% of the inmates participate in some kind of religious activity. The implications for further research are discussed along with the potential for further evaluation of the relationship between religion and crime.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Thirumalai, Dhanalakshmi"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"MPH (Master of Public Health)","degree_level":"Thesis - unrestricted","degree_discipline":"Public Health","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2004,"date_issued":"2004-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2004-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:19:35Z","subjects":["Inmates","Prison","Crime","Religion","Medicine and Health Sciences","Public Health"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright by the authors."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/981","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Thirumalai, Dhanalakshmi"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["1995-01-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2004-05-01T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Public Health"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis - unrestricted"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["MPH (Master of Public Health)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Inmates","Prison","Crime","Religion","Medicine and Health Sciences","Public Health"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright by the authors."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://dc.etsu.edu/context/etd/article/2138/viewcontent/ThirumalaiD020403f.pdf","https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/981"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Persistent high levels of crime in this country have provided support for the need for public programs that help in reducing crime rates through effective interventions. Spirituality and religion are considered to play a major part in determining an individual's attitude towards committing a crime. This study analyzed if inmates in State and Federal prisons in the US are involved in prison religious activities and personal prayers in order to determine if criminality (measured by offense type) of inmates affects their participation in religious activities. Based on logistic regression analysis, gender, race, and marital status of inmates were found to be significant predictors of inmates' religious participation. Offense type was not a significant predictor in determining inmates' participation in religious activities. The study shows up to 60% of the inmates participate in some kind of religious activity. The implications for further research are discussed along with the potential for further evaluation of the relationship between religion and crime.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Religion and Crime: A Study of Inmates in State and Federal Prisons in the United States."]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Thirumalai, Dhanalakshmi"],"dc:date.available":["1995-01-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2004-05-01T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Persistent high levels of crime in this country have provided support for the need for public programs that help in reducing crime rates through effective interventions. Spirituality and religion are considered to play a major part in determining an individual's attitude towards committing a crime. This study analyzed if inmates in State and Federal prisons in the US are involved in prison religious activities and personal prayers in order to determine if criminality (measured by offense type) of inmates affects their participation in religious activities. Based on logistic regression analysis, gender, race, and marital status of inmates were found to be significant predictors of inmates' religious participation. Offense type was not a significant predictor in determining inmates' participation in religious activities. The study shows up to 60% of the inmates participate in some kind of religious activity. The implications for further research are discussed along with the potential for further evaluation of the relationship between religion and crime.
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