Religiös fostran och omsorg bakom svenska fängelsemurar : Svenska fängelseprästers beskrivningar och tolkningar av brottsorsaker, fångar, samhällsproblem och fostrande lösningar under 1900-talets början

This study examines Swedish prison priests in the early 20th century, more specifically the years 1900-1909 and 1925-1932. Prison chaplains arose in the early 1800s as a result of reforms to Sweden's penal code in the 1840s. Sweden adopted the so-called Philadelphiasystem which meant that the prisons placed prisoners in complete isolation and only had access to the "morally good" staff, such as the prison chaplains. In theory, the aim was to talk with prisoners and "rehabilitate" them, so they could return to society. The priests' main method of establishing rehabilitation attempts was achieved through constant observation and dialogue with prisoners. Unlike other prison studies, which are often associated with analyzing the typical power dynamics between "superior" and "subordinate", this study will investigate and present, through the prison chaplains' annual reports and books, what they believed and considered to be cause of crime, the right way to rehabilitate prisoner and what problems they could face after their time in prison. The study will focus on comparing their relationships and interpretations of prisoners and how this was linked to similar discussions related to Sweden's social problems and solutions such as alcoholism, prostitution, modern city life, industrial workculture, parenting and neglectful households