Prison chaplaincy

Swedish prison and probation service is the authority responsible for the Swedish prisons (Kriminalvården). Each prison has a council for spiritual welfare called NAV, which is responsible for the spiritual welfare of the inmates. The prison law state that an inmate must be given the opportunity to practise his/her religion in an appropriate manner, regardless of which particular faith the inmate follows (SFS 2010:610, 4 kap. §4). Larger prison institutions have special chapels or special rooms for worship or for religious meetings. There is no law on the chaplaincy at prisons. However, all prisons and detention centres have at least one chaplain. Mostly a priest from the Church of Sweden and a pastor from a free church. At large institutions, there may also be priests from the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, Muslim imams, lay workers or parish assistants. In total, there are roughly 180 priests, pastors and deacons and around 10 imams in the Swedish prison service. Their task is to meet the inmates’ needs of private conversation, arrange religious services and to provide guidance in ethical and existential issues like e.g. questions about faith and the meaning of life. Part of the prison chaplains’ work is to help those in prison to find a representative of their faith and religion. At national level, The Christian Council of Sweden (SKR), an organisation consisting of almost all Christian churches, coordinates the work of prison chaplains and provide special training for the chaplains. SKR cooperate with The Muslim Council of Sweden (SMI) which has a similar function within the context of the Islamic faith.