Experiments in Virtue: Byron Johnson on Religion in Prisons 

Liberal democracies like America claim neutrality on deep questions of human nature, meaning, and morality. But prison policy stands out as an exception: here, governments openly theorize and experiment on how to turn bad people into good people — people who will not return to prison.  

Several California prisons provide inmates plots of land to plant gardens. Dozens of state and federal prisons give convicted felons shelter dogs to train. Utah women’s prisons dress their inmates in a flattering shade of plum and allow them to wear makeup. Each of these initiatives is built on deeper theories about reforming broken people: assigning responsibility, encouraging compassion, or enabling a dignified appearance. Religious people have their own theory, one that has existed for millennia: faith is the most effective means for moral reform. 

Some prisons are applying this principle with positive results that should make both government and religious people take notice.  

Dr. Byron Johnson, a senior fellow at the Religious Freedom Institute and the founder of Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion, has authored four books and more than three dozen articles on religious programs in prisons.  He has found that religion helps inmates find meaning, transform their identities, and serve others. 

For example, in 1995, an unusual program was launched at America’s largest maximum security prison: a prison seminary. The seminary students at the notorious Louisiana State Penitentiary (known as “Angola”) learned how to minister to their fellow prisoners, lead worship services, and care for the dying. Johnson spent several years studying the program and interviewing the inmates. He found that religious education gave the inmates a sense of belonging and purpose. He writes that “Angola’s seminary graduates describe the message of love and service outlined in the Christian gospel as their blueprint for personal change—and the inmate minister program as an opportunity for them to demonstrate that change in practice.”  

Dr. Johnson’s research has produced similar results across time and place. In 2018, Dr. Johnson’s study in a South African prison found that religious inmates were more likely to report meaning in their lives and less likely to report negative emotions. His 2023 study of a Colombian prison found that religious behaviors were positively associated with forgiveness, self-control, and gratitude, and inversely associated with anger, depression, and anxiety. 

This research confirms what religious people have always known: faith has the power to transform even the most fallen people in our society. Turning away from a life of crime requires more than vocational training. In Dr. Johnson’s words, it requires “identity transformation.”  

Reflecting on countless conversations with people behind bars, Dr. Johnson described some of the barriers to identity transformation he has seen in prisons: “Many of these people are in prison because they experienced the most horrible types of things their whole lives.… you can imagine there’s a lot of anger and bitterness that they’re in a place like prison.” Addressing that depth of bitterness requires a depth of healing that secular programs struggle to provide. “They need to forgive others, and they need to forgive themselves. And forgiving others and forgiving yourself is something that’s hard to do outside of faith.” 

Dr. Johnson’s research is a powerful reminder to our society that crime is not a disease that can be treated with a concoction of therapy and drugs. Nor is it the inevitable result of poverty or suffering. Crime is a moral problem, and that’s just what religious communities are most equipped to address. 

Dr. Johnson points out that, while these programs ought to be applauded, they are severely lacking in diversity. “A vast majority of prison volunteers are evangelical. My question is, where is everybody else? I think it’s a great thing that people are responding. However, I think that it’s not necessarily a good thing that prisoners are overwhelmingly exposed to just a particular religious tradition.”  

Religious freedom requires religious options. And religious options require religious diversity. “In a religious freedom environment, what more can you do? Well, if you’re Catholic, you should be telling your Catholic friends ‘why aren’t we in there?’ People need to respond to a need. Where are the mainline denominations? They aren’t there either.” 

Religious freedom in prisons doesn’t just require governments to step back, it requires religious organizations and leaders to step forward. Organizations like the Religious Freedom Institute and the Becket Fund fight for the right of prisoners to attend church services in prisons, but churches aren’t stepping up to provide enough services. 

This is a massive missed opportunity for religious people who want to bring their faith into the public square. Prisons are one of the very few places where our government explicitly aims to improve the personal moral character of its citizens. 

So why are prisons the exception? Even the most libertarian prison experts admit that  neglecting to engage with questions of moral development in prisons can have deadly consequences. Next year, over 600,000 people will be released from American prisons. They will live in our neighborhoods, work with us, teach our children, and become part of our communities. If prisons do nothing to improve the character of the criminals who enter their doors, those same people will exit those doors with just as much likelihood of hurting their fellow citizens, if not more.  

Our prisons have become labs for experimenting with human nature. Right now, most of those experiments are failing. According to US Department of Justice data, 82% percent of inmates who are released will be arrested again within 10 years. Dr. Johnson believes that religion is the key to beating those numbers, and he has the evidence to prove it. Now, it’s time for religious people to do their part. 

Cover Photo Credits: New York Times