Efforts to marginalize faith and the Bible from the realm of public life seem to grow more intense each year, and the impact of faith-based ministries on society continues to be overlooked. We discover another example of the trend on this edition of Connecting Faith, as noted criminologist and professor Byron Johnson, author of More God, Less Crime, discusses the key role of religion in crime reduction. We look for the missing secrets of success in the criminal justice system and what the statistics really tell us. Here’s where the conversation takes us.
The evidence is mounting that faith – based organizations are making a real difference in combating crime across America. Yet a continued resistance to these efforts remains. Byron believes a prejudice against faith involvement is the key ingredient in that resistance, yet he also believes a new openness to these programs is emerging that wasn’t there before.
Networks of social support exist across the country in different capacities, yet there are still so many people without hope. Byron describes how ministries are stepping into hopeless scenarios and bringing light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. He points to success stories specifically in urban areas and in prisons. We hear of a bible college began by a warden in the Louisiana State Penitentiary twenty years ago, and of the profound difference it’s made in the lives of inmates there. Even though many of the individuals there are serving life sentences without the possibility of parole, they’ve been given a hope that’s greater than their situation.
Churches begun in prisons have proven to be sources of invaluable help and mentoring among the prison populations. Byron points to the great work of organizations like Prison Fellowship, Rethinking Prison, and others.
