Changing violent religious men: The intersection of the criminal justice system, batterers' intervention programs and faith -based services and supports

Changing the thinking and behaviour of violent religious men is an enormous undertaking for those connected with the criminal justice system, batterer intervention programs and faith-based supports and services. This dissertation seeks to discover the intersection of these three responses to wife abuse---criminal justice, faith-based services and batterer intervention programs. While other research has sought to understand how religion contributes to violence, here the focus is on whether faith can make a difference in the lives of religious men who have acted abusively towards their intimate partners.;Results indicate that the concept of hope, or more specifically hope-in-action, is a key intersection point for those working with violent religious men. For the men themselves, hope signals a warrant for action. It is conceived of as a process based on personal agency or determination. The men cling to the belief that tomorrow can be a better day, a necessary element in working toward change. For those working with abusive men, faith and hope can strengthen and bolster the resilience they offer the men for the long and difficult journey ahead, a journey that begins with one day at a time.;Based upon data collected from closed case files from a faith-based agency of men who were court mandated to attend a batterer intervention program, personal interviews with men who are enrolled currently in a faith-based batterer intervention program, focus groups and interviews with faith-based andcommunity-agency therapists, parole and probation officers, and faith-based workers, supplemented by observation of 6 therapeutic intervention groups and specialized domestic violence courtroom cases, analysis focused on the common goal of transforming the thinking and behaviour of violent religious men.