Examining the role of faith community groups with sexual offenders: A systematic review

• Although there is support that religion and spirituality act as preventers of crime, studies tend to exclude those convicted of sexual abuse
• Studies which examine how those convicted of sexual offending, enter into, and maintain, a process of desistance are scarce
• A number of parallels between the factors needed to promote the desistance from sexual offending and the conditions encountered when engaged with a religious or spiritual community are outlined
• The potential for people to use faith-based communities to facilitate offending are also discussed

The aim of this paper is to examine the role of faith-based communities and activities in helping those convicted of sexual offending to desist from crime and reintegrate back into their communities. It was found that much of the current research is limited to non-offending juvenile populations. Where research has been carried out on adult offenders, these tend to be custodial cases and exclude those convicted of sexual offending. The role of religious and spiritual groups in helping people convicted of sexual offending to desist from crime, while reintegrating into the community is, therefore, unknown. A number of parallels between the factors needed to promote desistance from sexual offending and the conditions encountered when engaged with a faith community are outlined. We would note that a religious and spiritual environment can: promote motivation to change, provide access to pro-social peers, offer moral guidance, provide a support network, and help bring meaning into people's lives. The potential for people to use faith-based communities or organizations to facilitate offending are also considered. Finally, implications for probation work and future research are also discussed.