Duterte’s War on Drugs has brought a huge increase in the population of already heavily overcrowded prisons. Reflecting the overall poverty of large parts of Philippine society and a government that shows little interest in allocating sufficient resources to the needs of prisoners, prisons struggle with a growing number of inmates. In this context, religious groups play a crucial role in contributing spiritual and material resources. This study is based on an investigation in two penal institutions in the Philippines: the Manila City Jail in downtown Manila, a remand centre for inmates awaiting trial; and the New Bilibid Prison, with an inmate population of around 19,000 possibly the world’s largest prison, located in the outskirts of Manila. The study uses the framework of religious citizenship to describe inmates as active agents of change who, through their religious activities, shape communal structures and provide frameworks of meaning amid suffering and deprivation. Based on participating observation and interviews with inmates, with penal staff, and with religious service providers, this ethnographic study analyses the role of religion within the complex penal society as provider of social, material and spiritual support.

中文翻译：

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“房间很小，但心却很大”-菲律宾监狱的宗教与社区生活

杜特尔特的《毒品战争》使本来已经人满为患的监狱的人数大大增加。反映出菲律宾社会大部分地区的整体贫困状况，以及政府对为囚犯的需求分配足够资源的兴趣不大，监狱与越来越多的囚犯作斗争。在这种情况下，宗教团体在贡献精神和物质资源方面发挥着至关重要的作用。这项研究是基于对菲律宾两个刑事机构的调查而得出的：位于马尼拉市中心的马尼拉市监狱，是等待审判的囚犯的还押中心；位于马尼拉郊区的新比利比德监狱（New Bilibid Prison）的囚犯人数约为19,000，可能是世界上最大的监狱。该研究使用宗教公民身份的框架将囚犯描述为积极的变革推动者，通过他们的宗教活动，塑造公共结构并在苦难和匮乏中提供意义的框架。根据参与的观察和与囚犯，刑事人员以及宗教服务提供者的访谈，这项人种学研究分析了宗教在复杂的刑事社会中作为社会，物质和精神支持提供者的作用。