Description: Four black men from South Philadelphiatwo Christian and two Muslimare serving life at maximum-security Graterford Prison. All of them work in the chapel, a place that is at once a sanctuary for religious contemplation and an arena for disputing the works of God and man. Everything is rather ordinaryuntil one of them disappears. Down in the Chapel tells the story of one week at Graterford. We learn how the men there pass their time, care for themselves, and commune with their makers. We observe a variety of Muslims, Protestants, Catholics, and others at study and prayer, and we listen in as an interloping scholar of religion tries to make sense of it all.
Brief description:
Joshua Dubler is an assistant professor of religion at the University of Rochester and the coauthor of Bang! Thud: World Spirit from a Texas School Book Depository. He has spent more than six years working with prisoners at the Graterford Prison.
Review Quotes:
"Brilliantly written with insight, wit, and empathy, Joshua Dubler's firsthand account explodes stereotypes about religious life in prison."
-- "Elaine Pagels, New York Times bestselling author"