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Religion in the Criminal's Good Opinion of Himself/Herself
Over the decades that I have evaluated and counseled offenders, I have found that many consider themselves very religious. They attend church, celebrate religious holidays, read the Bible, and pray on their own. Some endeavor to convert others to their beliefs and practices.
These offenders adhere to the trappings of religion but do not embrace religion as a guide to improve themselves and their relationships with others. I recall a man who wore a cross around his neck and would touch it in atonement each time after he cursed. This ritual did not stop him from committing brutal assaults.An adolescent whom I interviewed in a detention center fervently told me about finding God and showed me a book he had been reading. When I asked where he obtained the book, he confessed he had stolen it from a fellow detainee.
Many members of organized crime profess to be religious. They have established shrines in their homes. They donate generously to legitimate charities. None of this prevents them from annihilating their adversaries.
Invoking religion for his own self-serving reasons, a criminal may pray to God to help him evade apprehension for a crime. He beseeches God to help him get out of a jam that he has created for himself. He prays for a favorable outcome in Court.
A criminal may be sincere at the time of his religious observance. He may pray in church at 9 a.m., then rob a convenience store a couple of hours later. Such "religiosity" is not a guide to life. Belief in God, praying, engaging in religious rituals, and other religious practices do not deter him from hurting others. Instead, they fortify his view that he is a good person. Then it is even easier for him to commit crimes.
Religion can be a positive force in helping an offender become a responsible person.. But being "religious" requires more than engaging in specific practices or rituals. The person who prays and then commits a crime is hardly religious. No matter what denomination, most religions set forth teachings and concepts that require an individual to do good works and live in this world without harming others (e.g., the Ten Commandments, the "Golden Rule"). Transformation into a responsible person comes from learning to think in a radically different manner, not from a quick conversion or adherence to ritual alone.
