Kyrkan bakom murarna, mellan rättvisa och nåd
Year: 2026
Type: dissertation
Abstract: This study examines how religion is used within the prison system to shape moral understanding, responsibility and forgiveness among inmates, with a particular focus on Romanian Orthodox sermons delivered to incarcerated individuals. Although contemporary correctional systems in Western contexts are largely secularized, previous research indicates that religious discourses continue to play a significant, albeit often indirect, role in how morality and forgiveness are understood within prison settings. A qualitative study was conducted in which six Romanian Orthodox sermons addressed to inmates were analyzed. The content of the sermons was examined using inductive thematic analysis. The research questions address how religion is used to shape morality and responsibility, which theological themes emerge, and how forgiveness is communicated in relation to personal and moral development. Theoretically, the study is grounded in narrative identity theory, which emphasizes that human identity is constructed through narratives that integrate past, present, and future into a coherent life story. The findings show that the relationship with God in the sermons emerges as a central framework for morality, identity, and existential understanding. The human being is portrayed as a moral agent whose life unfolds within a dynamic tension between closeness to and distance from God. Morality is understood as a response to the will of God, where responsibility extends beyond actions to include life orientation and relational positioning. Forgiveness appears as a transformative process in which guilt is not merely removed but reinterpreted and integrated into a new narrative of change and restoration. In this way, the incarcerated individual is positioned within a narrative process in which the past can be reshaped through repentance and divine grace. Nyckelord: (religion, prison, sermon, motality, church, forgiveness).
Author: Abdicevic, Erol
Language: Swedish
Subfield: Religious studies
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7164774791