At a time when criminal justice systems appear to be in a permanent state of crisis, leading scholars from criminology and theology come together to challenge criminal justice orthodoxy by questioning the dominance of retributive punishment. This timely and unique contribution considers alternatives that draw on Christian ideas of hope, mercy and restoration. Promoting cross-disciplinary learning, the book will be of interest to academics and students of criminology, socio-legal studies, legal philosophy, public theology and religious studies, as well as practitioners and policy makers.

This timely and unique contribution brings together leading scholars from criminology and theology to challenge criminal justice orthodoxy. They question the dominance of retributive punishment, and consider alternatives which draw on Christian ideas of hope, mercy and restoration.

Drawing on criminology, philosophy and theology, this book develops a theory of ‘redemptive criminology’ for practice in criminal justice settings. The therapeutic impulse for the text is a focus on the individual practitioner’s ability to embrace difference with the other, to resist harsh penal measures and to bring about change from ‘the bottom up’. By challenging concepts and practices of rehabilitation, the authors argue for the possibility of redemption and for forgiveness as the starting point. Using real-life examples and an interpretative approach, the book explores the connections between victims, perpetrators and the community. The text articulates challenges for the justice system and offers new insights into punishment and retribution.

Chow argues that Christians in mainland China have been constructing a more intentional public theology to engage the Chinese state and society, since the end of the Cultural Revolution (1966-76). He recalls the events which have led to this transformation and examines the developments of Christianity across three generations of Chinese.

Philosophy, Crime, and Criminology represents the first systematic attempt to unpack the philosophical foundations of crime in Western culture. Utilizing the insights of ontology, epistemology, aesthetics, and ethics, contributors demonstrate how the reality of crime is informed by a number of implicit assumptions about the human condition and unstated values about civil society. Charting a provocative and original direction, editors Bruce A. Arrigo and Christopher R. Williams couple theoretically oriented chapters with those centered on application and case study. In doing so, they develop an insightful, sensible, and accessible approach for a philosophical criminology in step with the political and economic challenges of the twenty-first century. Revealing the ways in which philosophical conceits inform prevailing conceptions of crime, Philosophy, Crime, and Criminology is required reading for any serious student or scholar concerned with crime and its impact on society and in our lives.

Challenging concepts and practices of rehabilitation, this text draws on criminology, philosophy and theology to develop a theory of 'redemptive criminology' that could revolutionise the rehabilitation system. It offers new insights into punishment and retribution and explores the connections between victims, perpetrators and the community.

"Utilizing the tools of forensic science and Christian theological ethics, this book resituates prominent criminal cases within their social and forensic contexts"--