"I Went Through it so You Don't Have To": Faith‐Based Community Organizing for the Formerly Incarcerated. Issue 4 (23rd January 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Flores, Edward Orozco; Cossyleon, Jennifer Elena
• Is Part Of: Journal for the scientific study of religion. Volume 55:Issue 4(2016:Oct.)
• Page Start: 662
• Page End: 676
• Publication Date: 2017-01-23
• Subjects: religion -- community organizing -- formerly incarcerated persons; Religion -- Periodicals; 200
• DOI: 10.1111/jssr.12294
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0021-8294

Abstract

Abstract : This article examines how civil religion reworks state/citizen relations among the formerly incarcerated. Participant observation and interviews were collected at two sites: FORCE (Fighting to Overcome Records and Create Equality), a civic group of formerly incarcerated persons and former gang members, and Community Renewal Society, a larger, interfaith civic group that provided institutional backing for FORCE. Data collection occurred over 18 months, as the two groups utilized faith‐based community organizing to advance legislative reform (Illinois House Bill 5723/3061) expanding the sealing of criminal records. Findings suggest that faith‐based community organizing, together with formerly incarcerated persons' use of "redemption scripts, " can facilitate empowering social integration. Whereas research on religion in the postincarceration experience has focused on rehabilitation and reentry programming, our findings suggest that civil religion can facilitate empowering social integration. Civil religion enables collective and political action by de‐privatizing personal narratives.