Understanding Personal Change in a Women’s Faith-Based Transitional Center 英文参考文献.docVIP

Religions 2011, 2, 184-197; doi:10.3390/rel2020184 OPEN ACCESS religions ISSN 2077-1444 /journal/religions Article Understanding Personal Change in a Women’s Faith-Based Transitional Center Kent R. Kerley 1,*, Heith Copes 1, Alana J. Linn 2, Lauren Eason 3, Minh H. Nguyen 4 and Ariana Mishay Stone 5 1 Department of Justice Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1201 University Boulevard, Suite 210 Birmingham, AL 35294, USA; E-Mail: jhcopes@ 2 Department of Sociology, Davidson College, Box 7139, Davidson, NC 28035, USA; E-Mail: ajlinn521@ 3 Department of Sociology, University of Georgia, 113 Baldwin Hall, Athens, GA 30602, USA; E-Mail: laurenaeason@ 4 Department of Sociology, Louisiana State University, 126 Stubbs Hall, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA; E-Mail: mnguy39@ 5 Department of Sociology, Xavier University of Louisiana, 1 Drexel Drive, P.O. Box 147, New Orleans, LA 70125, USA; E-Mail: astone1@ * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: krkerley@; Tel.: 205-934-8548; Fax: 205-934-2067. Received: 7 June 2011; in revised form: 15 June 2011 / Accepted: 21 June 2011 / Published: 22 June 2011 Abstract: An impressive research literature has emerged that identifies linkages between religion and a wide range of attitudes, behaviors, and life events. We contribute to this literature by exploring how women undergoing difficult life circumstances—such as incarceration, drug and alcohol addiction, domestic violence, unemployment, and homelessness—use faith to cope with and change these circumstances. To address this issue we analyze semi-structured interviews with 40 residents of a faith-based transitional center for women in the Southern United States. The residents outline a narrative of change in which they distinguish between the ―old self‖ and ―new self.‖ The narratives also specify the role of religiosity in facilitating change, the creation of a faith-based identity, and