Restorative Justice and Lived Religion - (Religion and Social Transformation) by Jason A Springs

About the Book

"This book examines how restorative justice practices and initiatives can challenge and transform the structurally racist features of the U.S. mass incarceration, and explores the ways that practitioners and initiatives across Chicago's South and West sides are actually challenging and transforming the structural racism and related forms of oppression they face"--

Book Synopsis

Frames restorative justice as a form of moral and spiritual practice with the capacity to transform injustice

In the United States "restorative justice" typically refers to small-scale measures that divert alleged wrongdoers from a standard path through the criminal justice system by funneling them into alternative justice programs. These aim not to punish the offender, but to constructively address the harm that wrongdoing may have caused to individuals or to the community, engaging with the wrongdoer to come to a response that might heal and repair the harm.

Yet restorative justice initiatives generally fail to challenge and transform the racist system of mass incarceration. This book argues that these initiatives have the potential to do so, but that we need to better understand what restorative justice is, and how it should be implemented. It claims that restorative justice can achieve its desired effect only insofar as it provides a mode of association between people that is, at its core, moral and spiritual. The book explores the ways in which restorative justice ethics and practices exhibit moral and spiritual dynamics, and what difference such "lived religious" dynamics can make for purposes of transforming structural violence.

Looking to Chicago's restorative justice network as a model for developing these transformational and sustainable social changes, the volume showcases real-life examples of the kinds of practices and initiatives needed to shift the entrenched dynamics that fuel the prison-industrial complex across the United States.

Review Quotes

"Combines sharp-eyed ethnographic observation with compelling theoretical insight to reveal new possibilities for transforming the system of mass incarceration in the United States. Jason A. Springs takes us to the frontlines of restorative justice work in Chicago's South and West Side neighborhoods, revealing the deeply ethical and spiritual orientations of its practitioners and of the restorative justice alternatives they are creating...Readers will come away from the book inspired to roll up their sleeves and get working to make cities like Chicago and, indeed, the entire United States--still so deeply imbued with racism--worthy of its democratic ideals."--Loren D. Lybarger, author of Palestinian Chicago: Identity in Excile

"Illustrates a holistic approach to embodying the principles of restorative justice, utilizing empathy, compassion, accountability, spirituality, and cultural customs to heal our society, including both the people who cause harm and those having been harmed.""--Teiahsha Bankhead, Executive Director, Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth

About the Author

Jason A. Springs is Professor of Religion, Ethics, and Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame. He is the author of several books, including Healthy Conflict in Contemporary American Society: From Enemy to Adversary.