The Hollywood portrayal for an ex-con getting out of prison is either a Bible-carrying, changed man or a criminal ready to pick up where he left off.

I guess this is because religion is seen as the opposite to criminal behavior and using either end of the spectrum easily shows the viewer where a character stands.

Of course there are prisoners who believe it’s either one or the other, i.e., the cliché of 12-steppers who trade one “addiction” for another — albeit a healthier one.

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However, that’s not the type of offender the largest congregations in Utah’s prisons are made up of. The majority of prisoners attending the church services are sex offenders.

I think one of the reasons sex offenders — and particularly child molesters — are drawn to religion is because they are seeking forgiveness apart from a society that, for all intents and purposes, will never fully offer it to them.

I also think they feel safer and less judged at church, as evidenced by some of the over-sharing in Testimony Meeting (an LDS meeting, held the first Sunday of the month, in which anyone present is free to address the rest of the congregation).

I never particularly enjoyed Testimony Meeting on the outside, but after a few stories and a whole lot of shock, I make sure to pay attention to the calendar and avoid these super uncomfortable get-togethers.

I’m not in a place where I can be judgmental. As part of prison I’m around every type of offender all of the time, and that doesn’t bother me, but going to church here made me recognize something that is a bit troubling.

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In the outside world, many sex offenders led fairly normal lives except for that one deep dark secret. When most other types of criminals go to church, it’s a positive change, but for many child molesters, attending church was part of the modus operandi.

I can’t tell the difference between the repentant members of the flock and the wolves in sheep’s clothing; or the criminal ready to pick up where he left off, while carrying his Bible.

I feel like this dilemma is just a glimpse of my new world once I am released. I don’t know if you call it cynicism, or just being more aware, but I think after this experience, I am going to mistrust everyone to a degree.

But when it comes to my kid, I’d rather suspect and be wrong a thousand times than let my guard down once. It’ll be that way everywhere though, not just at church.

The fact of the matter is that most of the best people I’ve known have been religious. I wouldn’t classify myself as a religious person, but I don’t think that makes me a bad person.

Prisoners attend church for various reasons. For some prisoners, it’s just a convenient place to meet and socialize with their buddies, and for others, it’s probably the same reasons most people outside of prison attend.

I have been attending church as of late, because for one, I’m awake early, and there is nothing else to do on Sunday morning. And second, it is familiar; I grew up doing it, so it reminds me of a past life, a better life.

Brian Wood, formerly of Layton, is an inmate at the Utah Correctional Facility in Gunnison. He pleaded guilty to nine felony charges for offenses from 2011 to 2014, including counts of burglary, drug possession and prescription fraud. He could spend up to 35 years in prison, depending on parole hearings.