Religious conversion in prison: why Christianity fails and Islam wins
Recently I've read something about how Christianity is over feminized these days1. Books like 'No more Christianity Mr. Nice Guy' are selling like hot cakes. Speaking as a man, I can perfectly understand why men are increasingly staying away from church. Generally, men are not really into the huggy-feely stuff, holding hands with their neighbors and singing songs about shepherds and lost lambs.
There is plenty of stuff in the bible which could be used for producing 'die hard' style guy movies. When Jesus cleared the money changers out of the temple, he did not talk about feelings or sung an inspirational hymn; He brought a whip, kicked over tables and went Chuck Norris on their asses. Those kinds of stories appeal to men; Stuff about right and wrong, with a couple of violent deaths sprinkled in between for entertainment. A 'Sound of Music' style musical doesn't really do it for us.
Anyway, I was watching a documentary about prisons in the US, on National Geographic, and they mentioned religious conversion in Prison. That seems to be a common thing in the US. On a hunch, I did a bit of research and found that a stunning 80% of those conversions are towards Islam2. One of the stories that I found interesting was of an innocently convicted former altar boy3. He had been a Christian. In prison, he turned to Islam to help him cope. Looking at the over feminization of Christianity, it does make a lot of sense.
Life in the US Federal prison system is undoubtedly hard. It seems to be like living in a constant gang war, with no cease-fire, no rules of engagement, and no other hope than to make it out unscathed. In such environments, it is no wonder that people turn to religion for strength and to help them live their lives. And almost naturally, modern Christianity fails them on both accounts.
The huggy feely version of Christianity is very unattractive at that point in their lives. The huggy feely approach to dealing with other inmates and talking about feelings in a US federal prison will get you killed. On top of that, being seen to accept a huggy feely philosophy outs you as weak, which is not a stellar idea among a population where the strong prey on the weak. Islam -for all its other issues- is a religion which is strongly based and preached on a sense of right and wrong. It encourages strength and doing the right thing (the right things according to Islam). Those are traits which will help people cope and deal with prison life.
Not only does Islam seem to be perceived as far more 'manly' and appealing, it probably also provides a perceived herd immunity against being hassled. These days you could plant a cross upside down in a dung heap, douse it with gasoline and set it on fire with a pile of bibles, and no-one would notice. Most Christians would privately disapprove, and shrug their shoulders. At most it would be mentioned on page 37 of the local newspaper. Otoh, if a nutty pastor of a 100 person church just threatens to burn a Koran (not even defiling it first), the entire world takes notice, and prays that he won't make good on his threat for fear that all hell breaks loose4. It even caused President Obama to talk about it in public.
I have no real conclusion to my post. I am not trying to make a point or convery a message. I just thought this was an interesting confirmation from an unexpected angle of something that some pastors are only now starting to realize.
