Book Reviews : The Church and the Criminal
| Published date | 01 June 1967 |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455056701300220 |
| Author | Raymond Maynard |
| Date | 01 June 1967 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
61
particular
sexual
issues - &dquo;free
love&dquo;,
divorce,
homosexuality,
contraception,
and
artificial
insemination
- are
dis-
cussed.
The
author’s
viewpoint
is
utili-
tarian
and
he
develops
many
themes
including
the distinction
between
per-
sonal
preference
in
asexual
behaviour
and
morality.
He
maintains
that
there
are
some
sexual
actions
which
many
people
find
disgusting
or
ugly
but
which
are
not
necessarily
immoral.
He
mentions
this
in
his
chapter
on
homosexuality.
This
includes
a
particularly
valuable
discussion
of
the
relationship
between
morality
and
the
law
and
a
critical
examination
of
Lord
Devlin’s
views.
Incidentally,
the
author
speaks
of
marriage
counselling
in
the
chapter
on
divorce.
He
knows
the
M.G.C.
and
has
read
of
the
F.D.B.
but
apparently
knows
nothing
of
the
work
of
probation
officers
in
this
area.
Whilst
Mr.
Atkinson
provides
a
frame-
work
and
ideas
within
which
practical
sexual
issues
can
be
discussed
and
de-
cided,
Mrs.
Duvall
purports
to
give
definite
guidance
on
boy/girl
relation-
ships
and
pre-marital
sexual
behaviour
to
teenagers.
Mrs.
Duvall
is
an
American
author.
She
quotes
from
numerous
sur-
veys
(some
of
which
she
has
done
her-
self)
and
includes
an
enormous
biblio-
graphy,
yet
(especially
after
Mr.
Atkin-
son’s
training),
it
seems
to
me
she
gener-
al.ises
without
sufficient
evidence.
Her
romantic,
novelettish
style
reflects
her
stereotyped
ideas
about
teenagers
and
I
found
this
a
depressing
book.
D.
STOREY
The
Church and
the
Criminal
J.
Arthur
Hoyles
Epworth
Press
16s.
The
author
of
this
interesting
book,
in
easy-to-read
style,
writes
from
a
wealth
of
first
hand
experience
as
a
prison
chaplain
over
many
years
and
not,
as
the
professional
caseworker
might
sus-
pect,
from
a
&dquo;clerical
ivory
tower&dquo;.
To
quote
from
the
foreword
&dquo;The
penal
system
in
Britain
has
been
his
life
study.
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