Introduction: Religion, Faith and Crime in Context

Abstract

This book explores the role of religion and faith in understanding crime and responses to crime. Religion and faith have been instrumental in the defining of individuals as deviants and/or criminals, the creation and development of legal systems, providing a rationale for penal philosophies and justifying mistreatment or violence. The range of actors and agencies involved, both with a religious or (as is often the case) an anti-religious agenda make this a complex area to consider, but nevertheless, a vital one when examining issues of crime and criminal justice in postmodern twenty-first century. Religion and matters of faith are still as potent a force in shaping social behaviour and interactions in the contemporary world.