The Practice of Spiritual Criminology: A Non-Doing Companionship for Crime Desistance

• Author: Gila Amitay,Natti Ronel
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X211066828
• Published date: 01 March 2023
• Date: 01 March 2023
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X211066828

International Journal of

Offender Therapy and

Comparative Criminology

2023, Vol. 67(4) 420 –441

© The Author(s) 2022

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sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/0306624X211066828

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Article

The Practice of Spiritual

Criminology: A Non-Doing

Companionship for Crime

Desistance

Gila Amitay1 and Natti Ronel2

Abstract

Spiritual criminology (SC) is an umbrella term for various criminological theories,

models and practices that share reference to the spiritual dimension of human

existence. Informed by a growing body of research that applies spiritual approaches

to various aspects of criminology, SC attempts to provide a common thread shared

by most approaches to spirituality: a voluntary self-journey that begins with an

elevated level of self-centeredness and is aimed at self-transformation. Based on an

extensive review of the literature, this paper proposes three general principles for

spiritual accompaniment of people who offended: mindful non-doing, being and acting;

love and compassion; and compassionate inclusion. These principles can be applied

by combining several practices: renouncing control over knowledge, process and

outcomes; creating a moral atmosphere that includes forgiveness and nonjudgment;

and self-modeling. SC is shown to contribute to the rehabilitation of people who

offended and also to crime prevention.

Keywords

compassion, forgiveness, non-doing, mindfulness, spiritual criminology

Introduction

Spirituality and faith in God (hereafter: as one understands God [Alcoholics

Anonymous, 1976]) are central for many people from a variety of backgrounds every-

where (Cooperman et al., 2014). Genuine spiritual knowledge is relevant to most

1Yezreel Valley Academic College, Israel

2Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel

Corresponding Author:

Gila Amitay, Department of Criminology, Yezreel Valley College, Po. Box 1930000, Yezreel Valey, Israel.

Email: gilaa@yvc.ac.il

1066828IJOXXX10.1177/0306624X211066828International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative CriminologyAmitay and Ronel

research-article2022

Amitay and Ronel 421

everyday contexts, as it covers all key domains of human activities and functions

(Ahmed et al., 2016; Ronel, 2008), including those related to criminality. Spiritual

criminology (SC) is an umbrella concept for different theories, models and practices

of criminology that share reference to the spiritual dimension of human existence

(Johnson, 2013; Ronel & Ben Yair, 2018). It seeks to understand and reduce criminal-

ity and victimization, representing a growing body of research and writing that apply

spiritual approaches to various aspects of criminology (e.g., Baier & Wright, 2001;

Ben Yair, 2021; Blumenthal, 2009; Chamratrithirong et al., 2013; Kewley et al., 2020;

Robinson-Edwards & Kewley, 2018; Ronel, 2009).

While different spiritual schools and religions espouse a variety of conception of

what spirituality is, SC attempts to provide a common thread shared by most if all

theistic and non-theistic approaches to spirituality (Goleman, 2004): a self-journey

from an elevated level of self-centeredness (Kurtz & Ketcham, 1992; Ronel, 2000,

2008) toward an exploration and realization of the sacred (Pargament, 2007). The

emphasis is on self-journey as it is a voluntary spiritual ordeal aimed at self-transfor-

mation. This is exemplified in the 12-step program and approach that serves as a trans-

formative way of life for individuals with various addictions, many of whom offended

as well (Alcoholics Anonymous, 1976; Galanter et al., 2013; Gueta et al., 2021;

Maxwell, 1984).

Despite the important emphasis on personal agency, professionals can provide

important help in this journey (Ronel, 2000)—our focus in the current article. We

define this role as “companionship,” rather than therapy or rehabilitation, emphasizing

the full autonomy, agency and self-struggle of those accompanied. In what follows, we

will present the key principles and select practices of spiritual companionship.

Principles of Spiritual Companionship With People Who

Offended

Based on the literature on spiritual programs with people who offended, we propose a

set of general principles for their spiritual accompaniment. Following both humanist

and spiritual approaches such as positive criminology (e.g., Ronel & Elisha, 2011) and

peacemaking criminology (e.g. Pepinsky, 2015; Pepinsky & Quinney, 1991), SC per-

ceives humans as fundamentally good-natured, and accordingly, most people who

offended are perceived as being able and willing to desist, given the right supportive

context. This is a well-established premise in criminological research, including SC,

positive criminology, and the good lives model (GLM; e.g., Ward & Maruna, 2007).

In their study of narrative criminology with inmates, Maruna (2001) found three

key elements in the scripts of people who offended: recognizing oneself as a victim of

society, as innately good; and as people who, with the help of someone who believed

in them, able to accomplish what they “always meant to do.” As articulated elsewhere,

“Newly empowered, he or she now seeks to ‘give something back’ to society as a dis-

play of gratitude” (Maruna, 2001, p. 87).