Abstract
In This Place Called Prison, Rachel Ellis illuminates the ways that religion is both coopted by the carceral state and provides a sliver of freedom to incarcerated individuals. She spent a year inside a women’s prison, participating in a range of activities, and conducting dozens of interviews with volunteers, staff, and incarcerated people. The book is easy to read, fascinating, and especially useful for understanding how religion takes on the characteristics of the total institution in which it is embedded.
Throughout the book the author hammers away at the idea that while religion in prison is a resource for dignity, humanity, and support, it also reinforces carceral control. The argument is coherent and none of the information feels misplaced. The book begins with two rather dry chapters that paint a picture of prison life and how religion functions. People who are already familiar with this information or have limited time, may want to skip to chapter 3, where the analysis begins. By then, you are hungry for the examination, and it is worth it! Ellis seamlessly weaves her analysis with rich empirical data.
She highlights several important themes, including how and why religion is able to function in the prison. Incarcerated people have a right to participate in their religion of choice, which they note on an intake form. Ellis talks with women from a range of backgrounds. However, the group that she refers to as “Protestants” is by far the biggest and best resourced. Women who “officially” affiliate can partake of a range of opportunities that the other religious groups are not equipped to provide. In a place where officials meticulously control physical movement and time use, most incarcerated people relish the opportunity to participate.
The vast majority of women also found religion personally meaningful. It helped them make sense of their relationships and the actions that led to their incarceration. Additionally, it offered much needed hope for the future. Nevertheless, Ellis convincingly argues that the prison structure subjugates religion. As evidence of this, the religious messages women receive often focus on how they, rather than their actions, are problematic. Likewise, stereotypes about gender and sexual orientation abound. Ellis gives special attention to same-sex relations. In religious services and bible studies, women were clearly told that same-sex relations are problematic—messaging that is consistent with prison rules. But, religious activities were some of the few opportunities many had to spend time with their romantic interests.
Ellis offers a thoughtful and heartbreaking discussion about motherhood. Many of the women longed for their children. Some got visits and phone calls, but others had little power to maintain relationships. They were fully dependent on the prison system and their children’s caretakers for any sort of contact. The prison’s thick bureaucracy, limited visiting hours, unwelcoming environment, stringent rules, and outlying location made visits especially challenging. Many women drew on religion as a source of comfort. But, religion could also bring challenges, especially during holidays (e.g., Christmas, Mother’s Day), and in the more conservative ways that it sometimes framed marriage and motherhood.
Ellis is a well-trained sociologist and is thus acutely aware of how social status and inequality creep into organizations. She devotes substantial attention to unpacking the ways in which inequality infiltrated the prison’s religious structures. Although people who are incarcerated have a right to worship their religion, she shows how the resources of the major Protestant group dwarfed that of the other religions, leading to inequalities in women’s right to adequately practice their faith. Likewise, the incarcerated individuals themselves often led religious services, Bible studies, and other activities. Some women garnered special privileges and support because of their roles.
Review of Religious Research has an applied orientation. This Place Called Prison is useful for understanding how religious institutions work in female prisons. However, Ellis offers few practical suggestions. Rather, her main point is that nonstate actors, like religious institutions, who interact with the carceral system will have their operations and messages shaped by it (i.e., secondhand carcerality). Her solution is to uproot the entire system. Moreover, she argues that it should be done quickly because the net of secondhand carcerality is widening (p. 174). I like her enthusiasm, but the US government is unlikely to dismantle the system anytime soon.
Fortunately, her descriptions and analysis are so good that readers will be able to conjure some realistic suggestions. For example, women who affiliate with non-Protestant religions lack religious resources. Some of these religions (e.g., Catholics) are big, and others (e.g., Reformed Jews) include wealthy adherents. These religious groups could apply political pressure and provide more physical and financial religious resources, though they will be tinged by the carceral state.
This is an excellent book that is easily accessible, thought provoking, and sheds light on an important, but under studied, topic.