To Reform or to Abolish? Christian Perspectives on Punishment, Prison, and Restorative Justice

Efforts to modify or replace public systems of criminal justice in accord with the principles of restorative justice have long been understood to include a variety of practices, ranging from educational programs to victim-offender conferencing. What has only come to the forefront relatively recently is the pluriformity of perspectives on the values and principles that underlie various restorative justice practices. Thus, the dialogue and debates over what restorative justice is have expanded far beyond discussions of praxis. Generally speaking, restorative justice is a theory of justice that emphasizes concepts such as reconciliation, forgiveness, and healing. As we shall see, there is little unanimous agreement about how justice that is specifically restorative relates to other ideas of justice (most notably retributive justice). At its most basic level, however, restorative justice has focused as much on particular practices, such as victimoffender conferences, as on theoretical foundations for restoration. If restorative justice is to be seen in continuity with classical definitions of justice as related to dues and desert, then restoration, reconciliation, and healing should be seen as what human beings in the aftermath of crime are due. Some writers seem to assume particular principles and values are exclusively determinative of restorative justice. For instance, Kay Pranis writes, “Restorative justice appears remarkably successful as a philosophy and guiding vision. Restorative justice sets out a clear set