Prison chaplaincy, church and the powers that be

Orr, S. (2024) Prison chaplaincy, church and the powers that be. International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church, (doi: 10.1080/1474225X.2024.2311434) (Early Online Publication)

Abstract

This article explores the organisational culture and context in which prison chaplains, as representatives of the Christian Church, work within the Scottish Prison Service. It draws on the ideas of the American theologian Walter Wink (1935–2012), on his concept of powers and the assertion that all organisations and institutions have their own spirituality and associated impact. To explore what shapes this spirituality, I consider various elements which create a cultural web, such as symbols, space, security, seeing, stories, routines and rituals. The complicity and challenge of any chaplain embedded in an organisation with a different spirituality and worldview to that of the host is discussed. The power of life-giving liturgy in the everyday is offered as a counter-cultural stance to the powers that be in any organisation.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Early Online Publication
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Orr, Rev Sheena
• Authors: Orr, S.
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Critical Studies
• Journal Name: International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• ISSN: 1474-225X
• ISSN (Online): 1747-0234
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2024 The Author(s)
• First Published: First published in International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church 2024
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons license