The aim of this study, Pastoral care behind bars, is to investigate the experiences of detention and prison chaplains regarding pastoral care and its function in Swedish detention centres and prisons. Using a qualitative approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with six priests within the faith-community Svenska kyrkan. With variation, the analysis has shown, based on Berit Okkenhaug’s theory of trinitarian pastoral care and Ralph Linton’s role theory, that pastoral care is about a compassionate encounter between a priest and a client. 

During the pastoral care meeting the client is given the opportunity to reflect on existential issues and faith and to explore inner pain. All the interviewed priests emphasized that confidentiality is a crucial factor in building trust with clients. Pastoral care conversations often revolve around guilt and forgiveness, and clients may confess their deepest concerns. 

The clergy interviewed describe that pastoral care in detention centres and prison fulfils a religious function, regardless of whether the clients have an explicit faith or not. This study also shows that the interviewed priests, based on an implicit Christian ideal, create the role of a pastoral care provider and as they describe themselves as a religious authoritarian leader.