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MORAL COMMUNITIES AND ADOLESCENT DELINQUENCY
... Religious practice at the individual level has comprised the focal point of this line of inquiry. Since religion at a contextual level has been linked to social control with respect to several different forms of delinquency (Adamczyk & Palmer, 2008;Eitle, 2011;Lee & Bartkowski, 2004;Regnerus, 2003;Rivera, Lauger, & Cretacci, 2018), the religious context of correctional settings presents a potentially salient correlate of inmate behavior. ...
... That is, religious individuals are less likely to engage in delinquency, "but only in communities where the majority of people are actively religious" (Stark 1996, p. 165). Although prior research has supported this cross-level interaction between the individual and social domains of religion relative to a variety of outcomes (Eitle, 2011;Finke & Adamczyk, 2008;Regnerus, 2003;Stroope & Baker, 2018), there is little evidence that personal religiosity is moderated by the religious context of prisons, a finding that likely arises due to ascribed social identity resulting from involuntary membership in prison society (Drakeford, 2018;Peterson, 2010). ...
... The finding is emblematic of religion's role in social control processes. Indeed, religious context has been linked to social control of behaviors such as homicide ( Lee & Bartkowski, 2004), gambling (Eitle, 2011), theft, and other minor forms of delinquency (Regnerus, 2003). These results indicate that religious context-based social control extends into carceral settings; that is, social control of several forms of misconduct appears to be present in prisons in which religion "is accepted by the majority as a valid basis of action" (Stark 1996, p. 164). ...
Most of the research into religious influences on inmate misconduct has been undertaken with respect to personal religious participation. However, the religious environment of prisons offers potential influences on inmate behavior by providing social control and support. Currently, the literature is mixed regarding the association between religious context and inmate behavior. This article reconciles the divergent findings regarding religious contexts, and integrates recently emergent directions in religious contextual research. Using nationally representative data of inmates in state and federal prisons, I estimate multilevel models of several different forms of misconduct. The results indicate a relationship between religious context and each form of misconduct, highlighting the role of cultural contexts on inmate behavior.
... The integrative effect of religion is not homogenous. As Durkheim noted, certain religious denominations are more effective than others in integrating and thereby inhibiting antisocial behavior (Regnerus, 2003). ...
... This research resulted in two theoretical novelties. First, the protective effect of religion is not only a function of intensity, but it is also the core belief system of religious theology (Stack, 1983(Stack, , 1996, specifically, how religious denominations treat misbehavior (Curry, 1996;Regnerus, 2003). Religious denominations that view morality categorically (most notably conservative Protestants) and accordingly treat misbehavior more seriously are more effective in controlling deviant behavior. ...
... Religious denominations that view morality categorically (most notably conservative Protestants) and accordingly treat misbehavior more seriously are more effective in controlling deviant behavior. Research on suicide and deviant behaviors have consistently shown that measures of Protestant conservatism are more predictive of suicide than the usual measure of total church adherence (Curry, 1996;Mainmon & Kuhl, 2008;Regnerus, 2003). The second theoretical innovation came from the religious network theory literature, which showed that the protective effect of religion intensifies in areas that enjoy high levels of denominational homogeneity (Breault, 1986;Burr & McCall, 1997;Pescolito & Georgianna, 1989;Pescolito, 1990). ...
In the last 40 years, social scientists have provided important insights into the different characteristics of mass public shootings. Despite these efforts, we still lack a fundamental understanding of the processes that shape its incidence and spatial distribution. In this chapter, the author argues that the failure to tap into these dynamics is rooted in our inability to escape a risk-factors paradigm in which this phenomenon has been examined. The goal of this study is to step away from this paradigm and recast these shootings as a social phenomenon, shaped by social forces. This investigation is couched on two major sociological/criminological theoretical perspectives: social integration and social disorganization. A continuous-time event history model (or hazard/survival model) is used to test the influence of social integration and social disorganization forces on the prevalence of mass public shootings in the contiguous United States for the 1970-2014 period. The results paint a mixed but rather interesting picture.
... Not all studies, however, provide empirical support for the hypothesis that religiosity at contextual level affects individual deviance and crime (Adamczyk and Hayes 2012;Ellis and Peterson 1996;Finke and Adamczyk 2008;Stack and Kposowa 2011). Also, previous findings are not consistent about whether contextual-level religiosity enhances the effect of individual religiosity on crime and deviance (Adamczyk and Hayes 2012;Corcoran et al. 2012;Regnerus 2003;Wallace et al. 2007). Besides, prior research focuses mostly on Western contexts, particularly the United States, which, due to its Judeo-Christian tradition, is more likely to have a moral community than less religious non-Western contexts. ...
... Furthermore, Regnerus (2003) found religious homogeneity rather than community religiousness at a school-and county-level to generate effective social control against delinquency (Regnerus 2003;Trawick and Howsen 2006), while Adamczyk (2008, p. 657) found neither generic religiosity nor conservative Protestant religious context to make a difference in women's decisions regarding abortion. According to Finke and Adamczyk (2008), religiosity at a national level was among the most consistent predictors of the individual sexual morality, although it had no effect on the morality sanctioned by the state such as cheating on taxes, accepting a bribe, buying stolen goods, providing the government with false information, and avoiding a public transportation fare. ...
... Furthermore, Regnerus (2003) found religious homogeneity rather than community religiousness at a school-and county-level to generate effective social control against delinquency (Regnerus 2003;Trawick and Howsen 2006), while Adamczyk (2008, p. 657) found neither generic religiosity nor conservative Protestant religious context to make a difference in women's decisions regarding abortion. According to Finke and Adamczyk (2008), religiosity at a national level was among the most consistent predictors of the individual sexual morality, although it had no effect on the morality sanctioned by the state such as cheating on taxes, accepting a bribe, buying stolen goods, providing the government with false information, and avoiding a public transportation fare. ...
This paper examines the moral community thesis in the secular context of China. Using multilevel logistic regression, we test (1) whether both individual-(measured by affiliation with Islam, Buddhism and Christianity) and aggregate-level religiosity (measured by the number of mosques, Buddhist temples, and churches per 10,000 people in province) are inversely related to law and rule violations at the individual level and (2) whether province-level religiosity enhances the inverse relationship between individual religiosity and deviant behaviors. Results from the 2010 China General Social Survey and the Spatial Explorer of Religions provide some support for the moral community proposition that contextual religiosity affects deviance at the individual level. Specifically, we find provincial as well as individual level of Islam to be inversely related with the violation of the law and rules. However, we find that neither the provincial level of Christianity and Buddhism nor cross-level interaction is related to deviance. The only exception, cross-level interaction involving the individual and provincial level of Islam, is in the opposite direction (i.e., positive, not negative). The implications of our findings are discussed.
... It is not surprising when reformers of later eras invented the penitentiary, probation, and parole, they structured their inventions as vehicles where offenders could go to atone for their sinful ways and embrace a spiritually right life Sumter 1999;Sumter and Clear 2002). Hence, throughout the following centuries, including the 20th century and well into 21st century, many sociologists have nurtured the belief that attachment to and participation in religious events tend to suppress criminal behavior ( Adamczyk et al. 2017;Brauer et al. 2013;Clear and Sumter 2002;Corcoran et al. 2017;Desmond et al. 2011;Ellison and George 1994;Hirschi and Stark 1969;Hoskin et al. 2017;Johnson et al. 2001Lee 2006;Petts 2009;Regnerus 2003;Roberts et al. 2011;Schroeder et al. 2017;Sturgis and Baller 2012;Ulmer and Harris 2013;Sumter 1999). Eventually, the suppression of criminal behavior by religion became a focal point of empirical scholarship. ...
... Religion is created by members of society but becomes a phenomenon that is transcendent and external to the members of society. According to Durkheim, an essential feature of religion is the designation of material objects in society as either sacred (religious) or profane (non-religious) (Regnerus 2003;Ritzer and Stepnisky 2017;Sumter 1999). The designation of pieces of the material world as sacred serves to reinforce religious sentiments/beliefs in society ( Ritzer and Stepnisky 2017, p. 97). ...
... Reinforcing Stark (1996) moral communities thesis, which posits that religion be sociologically studied at the macro-level as a group process and not that of individuals, Regnerus (2003) investigated the risk of delinquency amongst adolescents residing in religiously homogenous schools and counties that were characterized as being "above average social disorganization" (p. 529). ...
This paper provides a review of the literature that assesses the relationship between religion and crime. Research on the relationship between religion and crime indicates that certain aspects of religion reduces participation in criminal activity. A review of the literature indicates religion reduces participation in criminal activity in two broad ways. First, religion seems to operate at a micro level. Studies have pointed to how religious beliefs are associated with self-control. Second, researches have examined the social control aspects of religion. In particular, how factors such as level of participation and social support from such participation reduces criminal activity. Likewise, findings suggest that although there has been a sizable number of studies and diverse interests of researchers examining the religion/crime nexus, the research has not identified which aspects of religion have the strongest influence on crime reduction. In addition, the specific ways in which these factors are associated with crime reduction have not been comprehensively identified. Similarly, more than 40 years of empirical scholarship suggests that religion suppresses criminal behavior. Nevertheless, these findings remain controversial as the literature neither accentuates the mechanisms of religion responsible for suppressing criminal behavior, nor does the literature reject the spuriousness of the religion-crime association relative to mediating effects of self-control and social control. Finally, our review suggests that methodological constraints infringe on the capacity for sociological and criminological to accurately ascertain the validity of the religion-crime nexus, often generating mixed or inconclusive findings on the religion-crime association. Our paper concludes with recommendations for future empirical scholarship that examines the religion-crime nexus.
... Not all studies, however, provide empirical support for the hypothesis that religiosity at contextual level affects individual deviance and crime (Adamczyk and Hayes 2012;Ellis and Peterson 1996;Finke and Adamczyk 2008;Stack and Kposowa 2011). Also, previous findings are not consistent about whether contextual-level religiosity enhances the effect of individual religiosity on crime and deviance (Adamczyk and Hayes 2012;Corcoran, Pettinicchio, and Robbins 2012;Regnerus 2003;Wallace et al. 2007). Besides, prior research focuses mostly on Western contexts, particularly the United States, which, due to their Judeo-Christian tradition, are more likely to have moral community than less religious non-Western contexts. ...
... Furthermore, Regnerus (2003) found religious homogeneity rather than community religiousness at schooland county-level to generate an effective social control against delinquency (Regnerus 2003;Trawick and Howsen 2006), while Adamczyk (2008, 657) found neither generic religiosity nor conservative Protestant religious context to make a difference in women's decisions regarding abortion. According to Finke and Adamczyk (2008), religiosity at national level was among the most consistent predictors of the individual sexual morality, although it had no effect on the morality sanctioned by the state such as cheating on taxes, accepting a bribe, buying stolen goods, providing the government with false information, and avoiding to pay a public transportation fare. ...
... Furthermore, Regnerus (2003) found religious homogeneity rather than community religiousness at schooland county-level to generate an effective social control against delinquency (Regnerus 2003;Trawick and Howsen 2006), while Adamczyk (2008, 657) found neither generic religiosity nor conservative Protestant religious context to make a difference in women's decisions regarding abortion. According to Finke and Adamczyk (2008), religiosity at national level was among the most consistent predictors of the individual sexual morality, although it had no effect on the morality sanctioned by the state such as cheating on taxes, accepting a bribe, buying stolen goods, providing the government with false information, and avoiding to pay a public transportation fare. ...
This paper examines the moral community thesis in the secular context of China. Using multilevel logistic regression, we test (1) whether both individual- (measured by affiliation with institutional religion) and aggregate-level religiosity (measured by the number of religious sites per 10,000 people in province) are inversely related to law and rule violations at the individual level and (2) whether the province-level religiosity enhances the inverse relationship between individual religiosity and the deviant behaviors. Results from analyzing data from the 2010 China General Social Survey and the Spatial Explorer of Religions show that both individual- and aggregate-level religiosity are inversely related to the odds of violating the law and various rules of government, transportation, workplace, and other organizations. However, the cross-level interactions are not significant across models, indicating that the contextual religiosity does not increase the effect of individual-level religiosity on deviance. Implications of findings for the moral community thesis are discussed.
... Previous research has identified contextual factors correlated with lower levels of alcohol use, as well as decreased prevalence of delinquency and depression. Religiosity is one such factor that is generally considered to serve a protective function with respect to alcohol use and its developmental correlates [31][32][33][34][35] and for which small but significant negative associations with delinquency, [36][37][38][39][40] depressive symptoms, [41][42][43][44] and alcohol use [45][46][47] have been identified via cross-sectional and prospective analyses. Most studies have used single item or composite measures as indicators of one's religiousness, typically reflecting one's frequency of religious service attendance, or how important religion is to an individual. ...
... These results support previous literature linking adolescent delinquency to adult alcohol use 64 ; however, these results are indicative of a more nuanced relationship with religiosity than has been expressed in previous literature. 33,34,38,48,65,66 For instance, some may suggest that Religiosity profiles were derived from wave 2 responses (m age = 16.5), whereas alcohol use profiles were derived from wave 4 responses (m age = 28.5). ...
... Although Benda and Corwyn 65 posited that a multidimensional examination of religiosity may reveal complex ways through which religiosity protects against delinquency, previous studies have mainly applied variablecentered approaches, using single item or composite measures of religious service attendance, strength of evangelism (including identity as a born-again Christian), personal religiosity, and religious affiliation or church membership. 38,48,65,66 These variable-centered approaches assume that variables relate to each other in the same way across all types of individuals, 25,26 leaving the potential for interactions among underlying facets of these variables to remain latent. As such, it may be that the particular pattern of religiosity demonstrated by members of the loyal profile is not most effective in buffering against the influence of delinquent peers. ...
Prior research has demonstrated that adolescent delinquency and depression are prospectively related to adult alcohol use and that adolescent religiosity may influence these relationships. However, such associations have not been investigated using person-centered approaches that provide nuanced explorations of these constructs. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, we examined whether adolescent delinquency and depression differentiated typologies of adult alcohol users and whether these relationships varied across religiosity profiles. Three typologies of self-identified Christian adolescents and 4 types of adult alcohol users were identified via latent profile analysis. Delinquency and depression were related to increased likelihood of membership in heavy drinking or problematic alcohol use profiles, but this relationship was most evident among those likely to be involved in religious practices. These results demonstrate the importance of person-centered approaches in characterizing the influences of internalizing and externalizing behaviors on subsequent patterns of alcohol use.
... While this relationship has been examined in a variety of different ways, Durkheim (1912Durkheim ( , 1951 gave special attention to religion as a macro contextual factor, describing it as a force that can strengthen and solidify the group, resulting in an influence that is "sui generis," that is, an effect that exists over and above the individuals that initially contributed to it. More recently, sociologists have focused on understanding the influence of different types of religious contexts and the processes through which they shape attitudes and behaviors (Adamczyk and Felson 2006;Finke and Adamczyk 2008;Regnerus 2003;Scheepers, Te Grotenhuis, and Van Der Slik 2002). The core idea is that through the surrounding culture, structure, and social interactions, residents' attitudes are influenced by more macro characteristics, like the dominant religion within the country, or proportion of friends who say religion is important. ...
... Durkheim (1951) argued that religion can unite people into a moral community, which can enforce their moral beliefs and group obligations. On the basis of these ideas, researchers (Regnerus 2003;Stark, Doyle, and Kent 1980;Stark et al. 1982;Stark 1996) have developed the "moral communities" hypothesis. ...
... However, people who are more likely to use religion to guide their lives and live in a county with more religiously engaged residents are even more likely than their counterparts in less religious counties to have cooler feelings. The moderating effect of county religiosity provides additional support for the moral communities' hypothesis, which posits that when more religious people are around other religious individuals, then religious beliefs and perspectives are more likely to influence their attitudes (Regnerus 2003;Stark et al. 1980Stark et al. , 1982Stark 1996). ...
... Melé (2012a, b), for instance, has suggested that the U.S. religious denominations (which are predominantly Protestant and Catholic) see employee-friendly practices as morally desirable. Since previous research has shown that a region's religious moral beliefs affect the behavior of believers and nonbelievers within that region (Stark et al. 1980(Stark et al. , 1982Pescosolido and Georgianna1989;Pescosolido 1990;Omer et al. 2013;Regnerus 2003;Corcoran et al. 2012;Clark-Miller 2008), we are led to the hypothesis that the religiosity of the region in which a firm's headquarters is located will be positively related to the firm's investments in the employee-friendly practices that the U.S. religions promote. ...
... A significant number of empirical studies have tended to support the moral community hypothesis (Stark et al. 1980(Stark et al. , 1982Pescosolido and Georgianna 1989;Pescosolido 1990). Omer et al. (2013), for example, found that the audit opinions issued by accountants working in highly religious metropolitan areas were more conservative and more honest than those of accountants in less religious areas; Regnerus (2003) found that counties with higher levels of religiosity were associated with lower theft and delinquency rates among adolescents living in those counties; Welch et al. (1991) showed that the level of religiosity of a Catholic parish influences the likelihood that people living within that parish will engage in deviant behaviors; and Corcoran et al. (2012) and Clark-Miller (2008) showed that the level of religiosity of a nation influences the extent to which that nation's inhabitants will see white-collar crime as acceptable. In summary, the level of religiosity of a geographically defined communitywhether at the level of a parish, a city, a county, or an entire nation-is positively associated with the moral attitudes and behaviors of the inhabitants of that community (Greeley et al. 1981;Wald et al. 1988;Leege and Welch 1989). ...
... In addition, a stream of research on ''moral communities'' has provided strong evidence that religion ''is a potent generator of conformity'' (Welch et al. 1991, p. 159; see also Cochran and Akers 1989;Sloane and Potvin 1986;Stark 1996). That is, the religiosity of a region has a strong influence on the moral behavior of those residing in that region because communities with a high level of religiosity promote conformity to their religious morality (Stark et al. 1980(Stark et al. , 1982Pescosolido 1990;Regnerus 2003). Religious context matters and local levels of religiosity will influence the behaviors of the community's local residents. ...
The World Bank recently noted: “Social license to operate has traditionally referred to the conduct of firms with regard to the impact on local communities and the environment, but the definition has expanded in recent years to include issues related to worker and human rights” (World Bank 2013, http://go.worldbank.org/FZ88VMOM90). In this paper, we examine a factor that can influence the kind of work conditions that can facilitate or obstruct a firm’s attempts to achieve the social license to operate (SLO). Specifically, we examine the empirical association between a company’s employee practices and the religiosity of its local community by investigating their fixed and endogenous effects. Using a large and extensive U.S. sample, we find a positive association between the “employee friendly” practices of a firm and the religiosity of the local community after controlling for several firm characteristics. In addition, after mitigating endogeneity with the dynamic panel system generalized method of moment and after employing several other econometric tests, we still find a robust positive association between the religiosity of the local community and employee-friendly practices. Since recent research has shown that the firm’s treatment of its stakeholders is a key to achieving an SLO, and since employees constitute a highly significant stakeholder group, we interpret our results as supporting the view that religion is an important influence on the kinds of employee practices that can increase the likelihood that a firm will acquire the SLO.
... While this relationship has been examined in a variety of different ways, Durkheim (1912Durkheim ( , 1951 gave special attention to religion as a macro contextual factor, describing it as a force that can strengthen and solidify the group, resulting in an influence that is "sui generis," that is, an effect that exists over and above the individuals that initially contributed to it. More recently, sociologists have focused on understanding the influence of different types of religious contexts and the processes through which they shape attitudes and behaviors (Adamczyk and Felson 2006;Finke and Adamczyk 2008;Regnerus 2003;Scheepers, Te Grotenhuis, and Van Der Slik 2002). The core idea is that through the surrounding culture, structure, and social interactions, residents' attitudes are influenced by more macro characteristics, like the dominant religion within the country, or proportion of friends who say religion is important. ...
... Durkheim (1951) argued that religion can unite people into a moral community, which can enforce their moral beliefs and group obligations. On the basis of these ideas, researchers (Regnerus 2003;Stark, Doyle, and Kent 1980;Stark et al. 1982;Stark 1996) have developed the "moral communities" hypothesis. ...
... However, people who are more likely to use religion to guide their lives and live in a county with more religiously engaged residents are even more likely than their counterparts in less religious counties to have cooler feelings. The moderating effect of county religiosity provides additional support for the moral communities' hypothesis, which posits that when more religious people are around other religious individuals, then religious beliefs and perspectives are more likely to influence their attitudes (Regnerus 2003;Stark et al. 1980Stark et al. , 1982Stark 1996). ...
Although many of the world's most serious outbreaks of conflict and violence center on religion, social science research has had relatively little to say about religion's unique role in shaping individuals' attitudes about these events. In this paper we investigate whether Americans' religious beliefs play a central role in shaping attitudes toward the continuing threat of terrorism and their willingness to assist officials in countering these perceived threats. Our analysis of an original data collection of almost 1600 Americans shows that more religious respondents are more likely to express concerns about terrorism. However, this relationship is mediated by their level of conservatism. We also find that more religious respondents are more likely to claim that they will assist government officials in countering terrorism. This relationship remained even after accounting for conservatism, and people's general willingness to help police solve crimes like breaking and entering.
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... It was surprising that the selection hypothesis for the relationship between religious service attendance and substance use received no support. Previous studies have found at least partial support for the selection hypothesis (e.g., Steinman & Zimmerman, 2004), but this difference may be partially explained by the fact that the strength of the association between individuals' religiosity and deviant behavior is thought to be weaker in contexts where community-level religiosity is low (Regnerus, 2003). All of the studies that have been conducted on this topic have used U.S. samples, whereas the present study was conducted with Canadian youth. ...
... This finding is even more notable when considering ·that this association was consistent across all grades of high school, even though religious service attendance declined across the course of high school. Theoretically, the strength of the association between religious service attendance and an individual's behavior may be expected to decline as religiosity becomes less and less common within a given population (e.g., Regnerus, 2003;Stark, 1996 In contrast to the findings for substance use, the combined results from studies one, two, and three imply that the link that has been found in the previous studies between involvement in religious activities and academic success (e.g;, Loury, 2004;Regnerus & Elder, 2003) may have been spurious and/or may have not represented a directional effect from religious involvement to subsequent academic success. Although we found religious service attendance was linked with higher academic marks in study one when controlling for non-religious club involvement (and a greater degree of sustained involvement predicted higher marks), study two revealed that after including individual, peer, and family-level covariates in the model, religious service attendance at one grade did not predict higher subsequent academic success. ...
... Sociologist Rodney Stark proposed that, without a "critical mass" of other people in an individual's social network who share hislher spiritual/religious beliefs and practices (i.e., in contexts where the average level of SIR is high), the strength of the association between an individual's religiosity and one's behavior will be weak (Regnerus, 2003). Stark (1996;Stark & Bainbridge, 1996;Stark, Kent, & Doyle, 1982), for instance, reported that the relation between religiosity and delinquency was strong in high schools with large numbers of religious students (e.g., in the Southern U.S), but absent for adolescents who attended high schools where religiosity was low (e.g., the U.S. West Coast). ...
... Here, by incorporating private religious educational institutions into the research study for a comparison, I am able to examine the school-level factors related to regulatory capacity as they influence delinquency. Previous research, while investigating religion's impact on adolescent delinquency, has argued for the inclusion of more than one measure of religion in order to parcel out the true effect religion has on delinquency (Johnson et al., 2000;Regnerus, 2003). Moreover, looking at religious institutions and amount of time one attends church is under-estimating the true impact of religion (Cohen-Zada, 2007). ...
... Particularly of interest, religious belief and involvement refers to the importance adolescents place on religion and the number of activities they engage in. Researchers have established religious belief and involvement as being negatively associated with adolescent deviance and delinquency (Baier & Wright, 2001;Johnson et al., 2000;Regnerus, 2003;Regnerus & Elder, 2003). Since religious integration at the individual level includes participation in religious organizations and activities, in addition to the importance one holds personally in regards to religious moral teachings, it would suggest a high level of belief among its students. ...
... And when controlling for religious importance it was found to be negatively associated with delinquency. This is an important finding because it supports previous literature, which states religious belief and religious involvement decreases delinquency (Baier & Wright, 2001;Regnerus, 2003;Regnerus & Elder, 2003). At the bivariate level private school students and parochial school students maintain the same high grade point average in comparison to public and vocational/alternative school students. ...
... Consistent with this expectation, the strength of local religious social norms is found to be negatively associated with various forms of social delinquency (e.g., Regnerus 2003). ...
... The finance literature's focus on religious social norms as an indication of firms' risk preferences has led to an expansive set of studies (e.g., Hilary and Hui 2009;Kumar et al. 2011;Shu et al. 2012). Yet, risk preferences are not the dominant, or central, theme in sociology or management literature on how religiosity and religious norms shape behavior (e.g., Chan-Serafin et al. 2013;Regnerus 2003;Ulmer et al. 2008;Weaver and Agle 2002). Accordingly, by focusing on risk preferences, prior studies on the impact of religious social norms on firms' financial market performance have downplayed the centrality of ethical standards. ...
Prior studies suggest that firms headquartered in areas with strong religious social norms have higher ethical standards. In this study, we examine whether the ethical standards associated with local religious norms influence the M&A announcement returns. We document that the M&A announcement returns of acquirer firms increase with the strength of religious social norms in the area surrounding firms’ headquarters. We also document that the relationship is attenuated when acquirer firms have strong corporate social responsibility credentials, is amplified when public trust that firms act in the best interest of stakeholders suffers a negative shock and when the M&A deal has greater economic significance for the acquirer, and manifests predominantly in the lower tail of the distribution of M&A returns. Our findings are consistent with investor assessments of firms’ ethical standards driving the relationship between local religious social norms and M&A announcement returns. We find no evidence for the competing explanation—that investor assessments of firms’ risk preferences drive the documented relationship.
... Through these activities, individuals get exposure to how their religion views various behaviors. As a result, highly religious people are less likely to view deviant and criminal behaviors as acceptable (Adamczyk and Felson 2012;Adamczyk and Palmer 2008;Regnerus 2002Regnerus , 2003. ...
... Because religious beliefs support dominant norms and religious adherents are more likely to have ties to law-abiding others, religious individuals are less likely to engage in criminal behavior. Indeed, much research shows that religion deters a wide range of deviant and criminal behaviors (Adamczyk, Freilich, and Kim 2017;Adamczyk and Palmer 2008;Olson, Cadge, and Harrison 2006;Regnerus 2003;Sherkat et al. 2011). ...
Researchers have found consistently that religion reduces criminal behavior. Yet rising levels of political violence are frequently attributed to a new wave of religious terrorism. Our study seeks to reconcile this apparent discrepancy by studying the attitudes of people living in 34 African nations. Using data from the Afrobarometer survey and mixed modeling, we examine the influence of individual and collective religiosity for shaping civic engagement and willingness to engage in political violence. While individual religiosity decreases support for violent political action, collective religiosity increases it. The effects of religiosity are the same for Muslims and Christians and the country religious context minimally affects residents’ civic engagement and interest in violent political behavior. Our study underscores the importance of the theoretical and empirical distinction between individual and collective religiosity and offers insight into how civic engagement can be a pathway through which religion shapes support for political violence.
... Oil Spill Disruption and Problem Drinking: Assessing the Impact… religiosity both offer implications for social control through their independent effects on outcomes such as adolescent delinquency and theft (Regnerus 2003), gambling (Eitle 2011), institutional misconduct among prison inmates (Drakeford forthcoming), and beliefs about sexual morality (Finke and Adamczyk 2008). Consideration of the cross-level interaction between the individual and social domains of religion in these studies have produced mixed results as some studies have reported results consistent with the moral communities hypothesis (Regnerus 2003;Finke and Adamczyk 2008), while others have reported less consistent results (Drakeford forthcoming;Eitle 2011). ...
... Oil Spill Disruption and Problem Drinking: Assessing the Impact… religiosity both offer implications for social control through their independent effects on outcomes such as adolescent delinquency and theft (Regnerus 2003), gambling (Eitle 2011), institutional misconduct among prison inmates (Drakeford forthcoming), and beliefs about sexual morality (Finke and Adamczyk 2008). Consideration of the cross-level interaction between the individual and social domains of religion in these studies have produced mixed results as some studies have reported results consistent with the moral communities hypothesis (Regnerus 2003;Finke and Adamczyk 2008), while others have reported less consistent results (Drakeford forthcoming;Eitle 2011). These disparate findings regarding the intersection of personal and contextual religiosity are reflected in recent research drawing upon the moral communities hypothesis with respect to other social domains such as health (Drakeford 2018;Stroope and Baker 2018). ...
While a wide body of research has indicated that social resources may be enhanced through religious practice, few studies have explored how social resources are impacted by the intersection of the social and individual domains of religion. Using data from the recently conducted Survey of Trauma, Resilience, and Opportunity among Neighborhoods in the Gulf, this study employs multilevel analysis to examine the impact of religious context on alcohol misuse among individuals impacted by the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Our findings indicate that residence in areas that have high levels of religious concentration may magnify the risk of problem drinking among disaster-affected individuals for whom religion is not very salient, suggesting that religious context may influence the distribution of social resources differently between the religious and irreligious.
... In response to this problem, sociologists have proposed the moral community hypothesis to explain how religious context may affect individual delinquency. The key argument from the moral community hypothesis is that when an individual's religious values and norms are endorsed and reinforced by his or her social environment, that individual is more likely to be religiously committed and therefore less likely to engage in delinquent behaviors challenging his or her religious faith (Regnerus 2003;Stark 1996). ...
... These results confirmed the main message from the moral community hypothesis; that is, when one's religious characteristics become the norm in the community, the community becomes a moral community keeping people on track with the lifestyle endorsed by the surrounding moral community. Consequently, delinquency becomes a rarity (Regnerus 2003;Stark 1996). ...
Compared to individual‐level research on religion and marijuana use, much less research has been conducted to investigate how the overall religious context of a geographic location may influence marijuana use during adolescence and early adulthood. Using multilevel analyses on two waves of the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR) merged with county‐level variables from the U.S. Census and the Religious Congregations and Membership Study (RCMS), this study finds that a county's higher Catholic population share is negatively associated with underage marijuana use frequency even after controlling for a wide range of individual and county‐level variables. Besides being robust, the Catholic contextual effect on marijuana use is also diffusive, influencing both Catholic and non‐Catholic youth who live in the same county. This study highlights the importance of viewing religious influence on substance use as a contextual, cultural force across different kinds of religious moral communities.
... However, such arguments have been challenged by recent findings that declining religious commitment and belief are often not more common among those with more education (Baker 2013;Clydesdale 2008;Ganzach et al. 2013;Gross and Simmons 2009;Lewis 2015;Mayrl and Uecker 2011;McFarland et al. 2010;Merrill et al. 2003;Schmalzbauer 2013;Stroope et al. 2015;Uecker et al. 2007). College students with religious commitments are able to preserve and even enhance their religious identity and religious participation by constructing a moral community around them (Astin et al. 2010;Hill 2011;McFarland et al. 2010;Regnerus 2003;Stark 1996). ...
... First, even in diverse university settings, people with strong religious backgrounds tend to have religious networks with high levels of network closure that "shelter individuals from exposure to challenging beliefs, lifestyles and worldview; [and] protect over the erosion of beliefs associated with education" (Davignon and Thomson 2015;McFarland et al. 2010: 3;Stroope 2011). With such network closure, a moral community with a shared moral order and collective identity legitimate religious practice and religious belief (Hill 2011;Regnerus 2003;Stark 1996). Therefore, religious belief can be preserved and even enhanced through networks acting as moral communities (Astin et al. 2010). ...
Most existing research on education and religion has been situated in the United States, a context where it is normative for youth to receive religious socialization within families that is often thought to be challenged once they enter college. This study examines the relationship between higher education and religion in a non-Western context, China, where children are typically raised in secular contexts and anti-religious ideology permeates the education system. For Chinese youth, college is often individuals’ first significant exposure to religious perspectives. Using data from the 2007 Spiritual Life Study of Chinese Residents, we find that the influence of education on religion is not a secularizing one: Although the least educated are more likely to identify themselves as members of a religious group, this is true only of older adults. People with at least some college education report similar levels of religious salience and belief in their lives compared to both the least and moderately educated. In fact, younger adults who went to college are more likely to hold a religious belief than younger adults with only a primary school education, and more likely to report religion is important to them than those with a middle or high school education. Moreover, college-educated people are more likely to tolerate religious beliefs as alternatives to communism, and younger adults who went to college are more tolerant of religion vis-à-vis science than are younger adults with middle or high school education.
... The moral communities thesis posits that individual religiosity wields greater influences in religious contexts where the majority of people are actively religious (Durkheim [1897(Durkheim [ ] 1951Stark 1996). In support of this thesis, empirical evidence documents that religious context modifies the association between individual-level religiosity and a variety of outcomes (Finke and Adamczyk 2008;Huijts and Kraaykamp 2011;Regnerus 2003). However, there is a lack of systematic analysis of this possibility with respect to the sense of control. ...
... Although the impetus for this thesis has involved the relationship between religion and deviant behavior, this idea has wider conceptual application. Indeed, the moral communities thesis garners empirical support from a number of studies that examine the relationship between religion and an array of outcomes including physical health, psychological well-being, moral attitudes, and delinquency (Diener, Tay, and Myers 2011;Finke and Adamczyk 2008;Huijts and Kraaykamp 2011;Regnerus 2003;Wallace et al. 2007). For example, Diener and his colleagues (2011) found that the positive influence of individual's religiosity on subjective well-being is greater in highly religious countries compared to less religious countries. ...
Is individual religiosity associated with the sense of control? If so, does a nation’s religious context modify that association? Multilevel analyses with data from the sixth wave of the World Values Survey (2010–2014) demonstrate that religious attendance and prayer are positively associated with the sense of control, net of individual- and country-level controls. However, belief in God is not associated with the sense of control. Furthermore, cross-level interactions suggest that the association between individual religiosity and the sense of control varies across national religious context. Specifically, religious attendance, prayer, and belief in God are more positively associated with the sense of control in countries with higher levels of religiosity than in countries with lower levels of religiosity. I discuss the theoretical implications of these findings for views about religion, sense of control, and the linkage between macro-level contexts and micro-level factors.
... According to Stark (1996), the influence of religion on delinquency is to be more pronounced in religious (which he refers to as "moral") communities than in secular ones. Prior research provides empirical support for his thesis (Bahr and Hoffmann 2008;Benda and Corwyn 2001;Regnerus 2003;Wallace et al. 2007), although one study found the opposite to be the case (Tittle and Welch 1983). Thus, in China, where there is a secular society dominated by Confucian humanism and a Marxist ideology of atheism, religion is less likely to influence deviance than in the United States where Christianity influences the social norms. ...
... But this is an important topic for future research on religion and deviance in China. According to prior research, the inverse relationship between individual religiosity and deviance is more likely to be found in religious communities than in less religious communities, while no protective effect of individual religiosity is found in secular communities (Bahr and Hoffmann 2008;Benda and Corwyn 2001;Regnerus 2003;Stark 1996;Wallace et al. 2007). Individual religiosity has also been found to buffer the effect of neighborhood disorder on adolescent use of illicit drugs . ...
We examined the religion–deviance relationship in China, analyzing the 2010 China General Social Survey data to estimate ordinary least squares, logistic, and negative binomial regression models. First, we found respondents
who followed some form of religion to be no different from those without religion in law or rule violation. Second, respondents of folk religion were more favorable to unconventional sex than those without religion, and those of organized religion were less so. Finally, respondents of organized religion were less likely to report daily drinking and smoking than their irreligious counterparts, whereas those of folk religion were not different from the religious nones.
... Hence, religion reduces delinquency for samples selected in highly religious Utah, but not in California. Additional research using schools, counties, and SMSAs as the "community" suggests that it is not just the level of religious activity but also the level of religious consensus or homogeneity that deters deviance (Ellison et al. 1997;Regnerus 2003). ...
... Third, the results offer tentative support that the religious beliefs and actions of individuals interact with the religious context of their larger environment. Recent research has documented the contextual effects of schools, communities, and counties (Stark 1996;Stark and Bainbridge 1996;Regnerus 2003); here we find that national context can also interact with personal religious beliefs. The national context offers important differences from the local context. ...
... Dabei wurde unter anderem die "moral community" Hypothese aufgestellt (u. a. Regnerus 2003), nach der sich ein die Delinquenz reduzierender Einfluss der individuellen Religiosität vor allem in Gemeinden zeigt, in denen eine hohe durchschnittliche Religiosität gegeben ist. In diesen Gemeinden bestehen ein stärkerer Zusammenhalt und eine größere Bereitschaft, bei Fehlverhalten einzugreifen; die soziale Kontrolle ist damit stärker ausgeprägt. ...
... In Bezug auf andere "communities" sind die Befunde uneinheitlich (vgl. auch Stark u. a. 1982;Regnerus 2003). ...
Studien unter Jugendlichen in Deutschland belegen, dass jene Migrantengruppen mit einem hohen Anteil an Muslimen häufiger als Gewalttäter in Erscheinung treten als andere Migrantengruppen oder deutsche Jugendliche. So berichten Baier und andere (2009) für deutsche Jugendliche eine Mehrfach-Gewalttäterquote von 3,3 Prozent, für türkische Jugendliche hingegen eine Quote von 8,3 Prozent. Bei arabischen bzw. nordafrikanischen Jugendlichen beträgt die Quote 7,6 Prozent, bei Jugendlichen aus der ehemaligen Sowjetunion, die überwiegend dem christlichen Glauben angehören, 5,7 Prozent. Für diese höhere Belastung kann es verschiedene Erklärungen geben. Baier und Pfeiffer (2007) verweisen unter anderem auf die schlechte Integration dieser Migrantengruppen ins Bildungssystem sowie auf zum Teil kulturell bedingte Erziehungsstile (insbesondere den häufigeren Gewalteinsatz) und eine höhere traditionelle Männlichkeitsorientierung. Bislang nicht untersucht ist, ob der muslimische Glauben eine Erklärung der höheren Gewaltraten darstellen könnte.
... An important influence of religion on socio- economic status may be a protective one relat- ing to religiosity rather than affiliation. There is a substantial literature on the inverse associ- ation between religious involvement and crim- inal activity, drug abuse, and a range of risky or anti-social behaviour (Ellis and Peterson 1996;Corwyn and Benda 2000;Johnson et al. 2000a;Johnson et al. 2000b;Regnerus 2003). ...
... To cite another example, it appears that in Iceland (and perhaps more generally) 'The religiosity of individual parents is not significantly related to their children's alcohol use, but female students drink signifi- cantly less in schools where religious parents are more prevalent ' (Bjarnason et al. 2005: 375). Other studies using the approach are described in Johnson et al. (2000a,b) and Regnerus (2003). ...
... A ideia de que a religião pode funcionar como um sistema de controlo dos impulsos (v. g., Batson & Ventis, 1982;Batson, Schoenrade & Ventis, 1993;Beit-Hallahmi & Argyle, 1997;Regnerus, 2003;Wulff, 1991) é uma das mais invocadas em sua defesa. Com efeito, ela parece promover um modo de vida mais disciplinado e ascético (Burkett & White, 1974). ...
... Barry, Nelson, Davarya & Urry 2010). No que particularmente diz respeito aos adolescentes, o interesse pela relação entre a religiosidade e os comportamentos desviantes está já presente em numerosos estudos (v.g., Benda, 1997Benda, , 2002Duriez & Soenens, 2006;Johnson, Jang, Larson & De Li, 2001;Johnson, Larson, DeLi & Jang, 2000;Mason & Windle, 2002;Pickering & Vazsonyi, 2010;Regnerus, 2003;Simons, Simons & Conger, 2004;Shah, 2004;Yu & Stiffman, 2010). Salvo algumas excepções (v.g., Cretacci, 2003), tal como em outras etapas da vida, também para este período de desenvolvimento, os resultados disponíveis indicam que o factor religião pode desempenhar um papel protector, mais ou menos moderado, no que diz respeito a estes comportamentos. ...
Although the literature documents a negative relationship between religiosity
and deviance, inconsistent findings from various studies justify more research
on this issue. The present study examines the relationship between adolescent’s
religiosity (religious belief and practices) and deviant behaviour. Analysis was
based on self-reported responses to some questionnaires administered to above
four hundred boys and girls (17-18 years) who attended the 4th grade in public
schools of the municipality of Coimbra, during the first phase (1992/1993)
of an ongoing longitudinal study. Data refer to the second evaluation phase
of this study cohort and tend to confirm the idea that religion can work as a
protective factor relatively to some deviant behaviors, including delinquency
and substance consumption. Additionally, results show that the regularity of
religious practices is associated with some decrease of this type of behavior.
Particular attention was given to the analysis of the relations between variables
and several implications were drawn from these findings in order to
develop future research.
Key-words: Religiosity; Deviant behaviours; Antisocial behaviour; Substance use; Adolescents.
... A review of research on religiosity demonstrates how a wide range of variables has been studied with regard to religiosity. Variables from family relationships to people's aspirations and attitudes (Hungerman, 2011;Brown, & Tierney, 2008;Gruber, 2005;Dehejia, DeLeire, & Luttmer, 2005;Meier, 2003;Regnerus, 2003a). Nonetheless, most SWB studies have focused on non-Islamic religions, while interest in Islam's well-being concept has lagged behind and is treated as almost irrelevant (Arli, Gil, & Esch, 2019;Chandrasekaran, 2016;Francis, & Katz, 2003;French, & Joseph, 1999). ...
... From those, researchers selected 60 studies with high ratings, 82% of which reported inverse relationships (e.g. Barber, 2001;Benda, Toombs, & Peacock, 2003;Glanville, Sikkink, & Hernández, 2008;Johnson, 2004;Pearce & Haynie, 2004;Regnerus, 2003;Stack & Kposowa, 2006;Torgler, 2006) and just one study reported a positive association (Ozbay, 2008). (2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009) examined the relationship between R/S and academic performance in high-school and college students of which all − 100%found that R/S in youth was strongly and positively associated to academic performance (Koenig, 2012;Koenig et al., 2012, chap. ...
Religion and Mental Health have been found to be linked to several studies which seem to suggest that religion is
an important way to have a meaning and purpose in life as well as a sense of well-being. Moreover, religious
experiences have often coexisted with positive mental health. This article tries to summarize some of the most
important factors that were found to correlate with Religion/Spirituality (R/S/) and which are basic components
in the notion of ‘Mental Health’.
... In addition, religion's role in preventing moral disengagement may be stronger among communities of highly religious people. These types of 'moral communities' (e.g., Baier and Wright 2001;Stark 1996) might further prevent moral disengagement through social pressures related to conformity of religious participation and belief (e.g., Graham and Haidt 2010;Hunt and Hunt 2000;Regnerus 2003). ...
This dissertation examines associations between religiosity and bullying in adolescence and emerging adulthood across three empirical chapters. The first empirical chapter uses data from the National Study of Youth and Religion Wave 1 (N=3,137) to assess the likelihood of bullying and religious victimization by key religious factors in youth. Results show that religious affiliation, religious practices, and religious views and beliefs are all associated with differential likelihoods of bullying. Mainline Protestants and youth with higher religious salience and scripture reading had lower likelihoods of bullying perpetration. Higher service attendance and religious youth group participation, however, were associated with increased likelihood of religious victimization. This study shows that religiosity can have both a protective and exacerbating association with the emergence of bullying. The second empirical chapter uses the Health Behavior in School-Aged Children 2009-2010 dataset (N=11,444) to examines differences in religious victimization and subsequent mental health consequences by race/ethnicity among elementary to high school students in the United States. Results show that Black youth reported higher religious victimization as compared to White youth. In addition, religious victimization had unique mental health consequences. Although the association between religious victimization and mental health outcomes did not differ by race/ethnicity, Black youth were more likely to be religious victims, and thus there remains a greater mental health burden associated with religious victimization for Black youth. This study points to the importance of religious victimization in youth and implications for the mental health and wellbeing of adolescents of different race/ethnic backgrounds. The third empirical chapter uses Waves 1-3 of the National Study of Youth and Religion (N=2,454) to test whether the association between bullying and poorer mental health is mediated by religiosity over time. Results show that bullying is linked to poorer mental health (i.e., feelings of sadness and alienation) over time, although these associations were not mediated by religiosity. Increasing service attendance and feelings of closeness to God however were beneficial for mental health over the study period. This study points to the importance of examining multiple social factors in adolescence that have potential to alleviate the mental health consequences of bullying. Advisors: Philip Schwadel and Jacob E. Cheadle
... Glass and Levchak (2014), for example, pointed out the paradoxical situation that conservative Protestants as individuals have lower divorce rates than other Americans, but states with more conservative Protestants have higher divorce rates. Eliminating other ecological factors, the authors showed that the conservative Protestant subculture encourages early marriage and lower educational attainment for women, which thus contributes to higher divorce rates, even for those who are not conservative Protestants (see other applications of this approach in Lee and Bartkowski 2004;Regnerus 2003;Stroope and Baker 2018;Ulmer, Bader, and Gault 2008). ...
Recent studies have found that state-level religious and political conservatism is positively associated with various aggregate indicators of interest in pornography. Such studies have been limited, however, in that they either did not include data measuring actual consumption patterns and/or did not include data on individuals (risking the ecological fallacy). This study overcomes both limitations by incorporating state-level data with individual-level data and a measure of pornography consumption from a large nationally representative survey. Hierarchical linear regression analyses show that, in the main, state-level religious and political characteristics do not predict individual-level pornography consumption, and individual-level religiosity and political conservatism predict less recent pornography consumption. However, interactions between individual-level evangelical identity and state-level political conservatism indicate that evangelicals who live in more politically conservative states report the highest rates of pornography consumption. These findings thus provide more nuanced support for previous research linking religious and political conservatism with greater pornography consumption.
... Of course, the opposite relationship may also occur-people who approve of divorce may not necessarily leave an unhappy marriage. Several studies (Moore & Vanneman, 2003;Regnerus, 2003;Scheepers et al., 2002) suggest that even after accounting for individuals' opinions, the surrounding culture and access to the resources that facilitate certain behaviors shape the likelihood of enacting those behaviors. Indeed, the findings in this study offer support for the role played by value orientations in the larger cultural context in explaining individuals' attitudes, even after accounting for individuals' cultural orientations. ...
Across the globe, people differ considerably in their attitudes about abortion, divorce, and gender equality. These differences are reflected in the diversity of laws regulating divorce, penalties for women obtaining abortions, and differences in women's levels of political representation. While personal religious beliefs are often seen as having a significant role in shaping attitudes, economic development and political stability are also seen to be important predictors of attitudes about sexual morality and gender equality. This study draws on ideas from cultural sociology and the sociology of religion to address the interrelationship between personal religiosity and national cultural orientations to explain cross-national variation in public opinions about abortion, divorce, and gender equality. Using data from the fourth wave of the World Values Survey and hierarchical linear modeling techniques, support is found for a broad cultural axis of survival vs. self-expressive orientations, and personal religious involvement for shaping attitudes about abortion and divorce. Moreover, personal religious involvement appears to have a greater effect on attitudes about abortion, divorce, and gender equality in countries like the United States, which have a strong self-expressive cultural orientation, than in many Sub-Saharan African nations.
... Additionally, a series of sociological studies on "moral communities" have found that the reli- giosity of a surrounding community "is a potent generator of confor- mity" for members of that community (Welch, Tittle, & Petee, 1991, p. 159; see also Cochran & Akers, 1989;Sloane & Potvin, 1986;Stark, 1996). Therefore, the religiosity of a region has substantial influence on the moral behavior of those residing in that region, as communi- ties with a high level of religiosity promote conformity to their reli- gious morality (Pescosolido, 1990;Regnerus, 2003;Stark, Doyle, & Kent, 1980). Religious context matters, and local levels of religiosity will influence the behaviors of the community's residents ( Cui et al., 2017Cui et al., , 2016Cui et al., , 2018Cui, Jo, Na, et al., 2015a;Cui, Jo, & Velasquez, 2015b;Ellison, Burr, & McCall, 1997;Greeley, McCready, Sullivan, & Fee, 1981;Leege & Welch, 1989;Wald, Owen, & Hill, 1988). ...
This study examines the influence of Christian religion on corporate decisions related to human rights in the United States. Specifically, it examines the empirical association between a company's human rights practices and the Christian religiosity in its local community, as well as individual CEO religiosity in the United States, both of which have not been tested in prior studies. Employing a large sample from the United States, we find a congruent association between the “human rights friendly” practices of a company and the Christian religiosity of the local community. This novel finding is robust to a diverse set of tests. In addition, we find that the association between Christian religiosity in the United States and human rights is more significant in reducing human rights concerns, than it improves human rights strengths. This study interprets these results as upholding the religious morality hypothesis, namely, that companies located in areas with higher religiosity are likely to engage in more human rights‐friendly practices, and the United States. Christians consider religion as an influencing factor that encourages managers to embrace human rights. Furthermore, this study finds that individual religious managers tend toward more human rights‐friendly practices, supporting our religious manager hypothesis.
... These factors are often described as "private religiosity" and "public religiosity" (e.g., Kauffman, 1979;Strayhorn, Weidman, & Larson, 1990), a distinction that goes back to ancient Roman times (Dowden, 1992). Other "composite" measures do not make this distinction and may be described as general religiosity scales (e.g., Kerestes, Youniss, & Metz, 2004;King & Furrow, 2004;Regnerus, 2003;Wills, Yaeger, & Sandy, 2003). By conducting an oblique rotation in our principal component analysis of the BRPS: Abridged scale, we allowed for correlated factors. ...
Although empirical evidence supports a relationship between religiosity and
criminal behavior, debate continues about the theoretical mechanisms by which
they are related. Moreover, the topic has been largely ignored by practicing
clinicians and correctional workers. The Muslim Religiosity-Personality Inventory:
Abridged was administered to low-risk Pakistani probationers and factor analyzed,
after which probationers’ recidivism was monitored. Five oblique factors were
obtained, three of which were correlated with recidivism (Religious Practice,
Religious–Moral Values, and Fundamental Religious Beliefs), as was the full scale,
while two were not (Importance of Religion and Rejection of Nonbeliever). In
a logistic regression, Religious–Moral Values and Religious Practices contributed
to the prediction of probationer recidivism. However, when demographic
characteristics were introduced, education and marital status replaced Religious
Practices. This study supports the religiosity–crime link in a non-Western, Muslim
culture. Implications for assessing religiosity and for practitioners in the justice
system are discussed.
... However, the effects of individual religiosity likely depend on religious contexts, and vice versa. Perhaps the most well-known moral communities concept is the "light switch" hypothesis, which argues that religious contexts "turn on" (or strengthen) the influence of individual religiosity (Lim and MacGregor 2012;Regnerus 2003). 2 According to the light switch hypothesis, aggregate religious participation serves as an indication of social interactions among co-religionists. ...
Scholars have long theorized that religious contexts provide health-promoting social integration and regulation. A growing body of literature has documented associations between individual religiosity and health, as well as macro-micro linkages between religious contexts, religious participation, and individual health. Using unique data on individuals and county contexts in the United States, this study offers new insight by using multilevel analysis to examine meso-micro relationships between religion and health. We assess whether and how the relationship between individual religiosity and health depends on communal religious contexts. In highly religious contexts, religious individuals are less likely to have poor health, while nonreligious individuals are markedly more likely to have poor health. In less religious contexts, religious and nonreligious individuals report similar levels of health. Consequently, the health gap between religious and nonreligious individuals is largest in religiously devout contexts, primarily due to the negative effects on nonreligious individuals’ health in religious contexts.
... Estudando práticas criminosas, a maioria dos autores afirma que a religião tem papel protetor contra a violência. Esse é o caso de Pearce e colaboradores (2003), Regnerus (2003), Johnson (2001), entre outros. Grande parte dos estudiosos considera a religião como uma forma de apoio diante das durezas da vida prisional e da vulnerabilidade perante estressores, para contribuir com a elaboração de expectativas promissoras (Fernander et al., 2005;Moraes & Dalgalarrondo, 2006;Guedes, 2006;Schneider & Feltey, 2009;O'Connor & Perreyclear, 2002;Allen et al., 2008;Wahl, Cotton & Harrison-Monroe, 2008;Huculak & McLennan, 2010;Skotnicki, 1996). ...
... He argued that religion produces conformity to norms only as it is sustained through interaction and is accepted by the majority as a valid basis for action. These ideas produced the moral communities hypothesis, which has led to several studies examining how religious groups, regions, and nations may heighten the effect of personal religious beliefs to influence attitudes and behaviors (Regnerus 2003;Finke and Adamczyk 2008;Sturgis and Baller 2012;Welch, Tittle, and Petee 1991). ...
Over the last twenty years researchers have given a lot of attention to the relationship between religion and crime, finding that religion tends to have a deterring influence on crime-related attitudes and behaviors. While a variety of studies have been published in this area, little work has been done to assess the state of research on religion and crime. Because so much research has consistently found a relationship, work on religion may be able to offer fresh insight into criminological theory and substantive research more generally. This study fills a gap in current understanding by conducting a systematic review of empirically-based journal articles published between 2004 and 2014. The analysis, which assesses qualitative and quantitative studies, offers theoretical and empirical insight into what religion brings to the study of crime, and vice versa. The results focus on the data sources, methods, theories, and journals used in producing research on religion and crime. The findings highlight the most popular theoretical perspectives, which include religious contextual effects, social control, and social learning, as well as the least popular ones. Insight into the strengths and weaknesses of current research on religion and crime is provided, as is direction for future research into this innovative area of research.
... Thus, religious norms are reinforced in moral communities. Several studies have found support for this perspective (Johnson et al., 2000b;Regnerus, 2003;Stark, 1996). ...
The relationship between religion, juvenile delinquency, and deviance in general has been explored for many years. In fact, some of the seminal works in the discipline of sociology addressed the association between religion and deviant behaviors such as crime and suicide. This chapter reviews theory and research that has addressed the relationship between various aspects of religiosity and deviance, including juvenile delinquency, suicide and suicidal ideation, and sexual deviance; as well as studies that have examined religion as deviance. The chapter concludes with a discussion of three areas that require attention in order to improve our understanding of the association between religion and deviance.
... Rather, from a Durkheimian perspective, we contend that religion is more about the binding together of a community; it reinforces solidarity and consensus and allows cooperation and collective effervescence to take place (Durkheim 1995(Durkheim [1912). Consistent support for this perspective can be found in the literature examining religion and deviance; moral communities reliably predict a spectrum of deviant behavior (Hill 2009;Lee and Bartkowski 2004;Regnerus 2003;Stark 1984Stark , 1996. Adopting this perspective is an important corrective in considering how religion shapes Americans' conceptions of social institutions that are rapidly changing, like the family. ...
Family forms that have historically been considered "nontraditional" and even "transgressive" are becoming increasingly accepted in the United States, bringing the United States into greater conformity with other western nations. The United States is still unique, however, in that religion continues to play an exceptionally powerful role in shaping Americans' perceptions of and engagement in non-traditional families. Focusing our attention on same-sex and interracial families specifically, we consider the recent work on how religion serves to stimulate and justify opposition or (in a minority of instances) support for such families. We contend that studies typically limit their focus to the cognitive aspects (beliefs, ideologies, identities, schemas, salience, etc.) of religion, while often ignoring the influence of religion's more structural aspects in shaping Americans' relationship to non-traditional families. Given that religion impacts Americans' approaches to family formation at the micro, meso, and macro levels, we propose a more Durkheimian perspective on the topic, one that synthesizes social psychological and structural frameworks in future studies, thus allowing for a more comprehensive understanding of religion's evolving role in American family formation. We also call for more attention to how religion shapes the functioning of non-traditional families.
... For example, religious individuals might be expected to commit less crime as a result of (1) increased bonding to conventional others, (2) increased self-control through the internalization of religious norms and encouragement of self-monitoring through religious socialization, and (3) increased association with more conventional peers and decreased association with delinquent friends (Jang and Johnson 2003;Johnson and Jang 2011:122;Ulmer 2012). However, 3 As an example of the latter, Stark (1996) himself eventually developed a "moral communities" thesis, which understands the effects of religion in social, rather than purely individual, terms (see also Regnerus 2003). The deterrent effects of religiosity, he explains, needs to be activated by social contexts where religion is influential in constructing group norms. ...
This article examines differences in alcohol use between homeschool and both public and private school students. Applying regression analyses to two waves of the National Study of Youth and Religion, we found that homeschoolers were less likely to drink alcohol and get drunk than non-homeschoolers, which was explained in part by variables of social bonding, social learning, and, to a greater extent, religiosity. Specifically, parental monitoring helped explain differences between homeschool and private school students, while association with deviant friends partially accounted for differences with public school students. Religiosity, however, explained differences between homeschoolers and both types of non-homeschoolers.
... Rather, from a Durkheimian perspective, we contend that religion is more about the binding together of a community; it reinforces solidarity and consensus and allows cooperation and collective effervescence to take place (Durkheim 1995(Durkheim [1912). Consistent support for this perspective can be found in the literature examining religion and deviance; moral communities reliably predict a spectrum of deviant behavior (Hill 2009;Lee and Bartkowski 2004;Regnerus 2003;Stark 1984Stark , 1996. Adopting this perspective is an important corrective in considering how religion shapes Americans' conceptions of social institutions that are rapidly changing, like the family. ...
... Of course, the opposite relationship may also occur-people who approve of divorce may not necessarily leave an unhappy marriage. Several studies (Moore & Vanneman, 2003;Regnerus, 2003;Scheepers et al., 2002) suggest that even after accounting for individuals' opinions, the surrounding culture and access to the resources that facilitate certain behaviors shape the likelihood of enacting those behaviors. Indeed, the findings in this study offer support for the role played by value orientations in the larger cultural context in explaining individuals' attitudes, even after accounting for individuals' cultural orientations. ...
... Hence, only God is the giver and taker of life (Callahan, 2001; Durkheim, 1954; Hessini, 2007; Hunter, 1991). Therefore, fear of divine punishment for individuals and their communities may encourage more conservative religious people to influence others about their attitudes in maintaining sanctity of life (Regnerus, 2003; Tubergen, Grotenhuis, & Ultee, 2005). While religious people may have more disapproving attitudes about abortion, euthanasia, and suicide than non-religious individuals, religions vary with regard to each life issue and to the extent of which they disapprove. ...
Religion has been found to be an important predictor in public opinions about life related issues. Because, religion serves as setting the moral rules to determine attitudes about what is right and wrong, people who value religion as important are more likely to have disapproving attitudes about sanctity of life, e.g., euthanasia, suicide, and abortion. This study draws on data from the fourth wave of the World Values Survey and multilevel models to explain the micro and macro influences of religion for public opinion about abortion, euthanasia, and suicide. Results found that more religious people and people in more religious countries are more disapproving of abortion, euthanasia, and suicide.
... Alternatively, in highly secularized communities, the effects of personal religiosity become weaker because religion is not perceived as normative by the majority. A number of studies provided empirical support for the moral communities thesis (Finke and Adamczyk 2008;Regnerus 2003;Stack and Kposowa 2006;Wallace et al. 2007). Coupled with the well-established claim that aggregate religiosity is generally higher in less affluent countries compared with more affluent countries (Barber 2013;Norris and Inglehart 2004), the moral communities thesis suggests that the role of personal religiosity in diminishing approval of premarital sex is greater in countries that are less economically developed (i.e., highly religious countries) than in countries that are more economically developed (i.e., less religious countries). ...
This study examines how micro-level religious effects and macro-level economic contexts shape individuals’ attitudes toward premarital sex. It then investigates whether the effects of individual-level religiosity on approval of premarital sex are contingent on the economic characteristics of a nation, reflected by a country’s gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. Multilevel analyses of data from the sixth wave of the World Values Survey (2010–2014) reveal that both individual religiosity and GDP per capita are important predictors of attitudes toward premarital sex. Furthermore, cross-level interactions suggest that individual religiosity has a greater negative effect on approval of premarital sex in countries that are more economically developed. I discuss how these findings speak to theories about religion, economic modernization, and the ways that macro-level contexts are linked with micro-level factors.
... More specifically, because many largescale social science surveys utilize complex sampling procedures (i.e., stratified and clustered sampling designs), individuals are often dispersed among a large number of level-2 units with few individuals per group (e.g., thousands of census tract defined neighborhoods with few individuals in each census tract). For example, although the sampling frame for the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) was at the school-level, neighborhood-level Add Health data are often used to answer a variety of research questions (e.g., Bruce, 2004;Cubbin, Santelli, Brindis, & Braveman, 2005;Gordon-Larsen, Nelson, Page, & Popkin, 2006;Knoester & Haynie, 2005;Regnerus, 2003;Wickrama & Bryant, 2003;Wickrama, Noh, & Bryant, 2005). However, the dispersion of adolescents across neighborhoods is less than ideal. ...
Sample size at each level is important to consider when estimating multilevel models. Although general sample size guidelines have been suggested, the nature of social science survey research (e.g., large number of level-2 units with few individuals per unit) often makes such recommendations difficult to follow. This Monte Carlo study focuses on the consequences of level-2 sparseness on the estimation of fixed and random effects coefficients in terms of model convergence and both point estimates and interval estimates as a function of the level-1 sample size, number of level-2 units, proportion of singletons (level-2 units with one observation), collinearity, intraclass correlation, and model complexity. SAS IML was used to simulate 1000 data sets across 5760 conditions. Results are presented in terms of statistical bias, confidence interval coverage, and rates of model non-convergence.
... More specifically, because many large-scale social science surveys utilize complex sampling procedures (i.e., stratified and clustered sampling designs), individuals are often dispersed among a large number of level-2 units with few individuals per group (e.g., thousands of census tract defined neighborhoods with few individuals in each census tract). For example, although the sampling frame for the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) was at the school-level, neighborhood-level Add Health data are often used to answer a variety of research questions (e.g., Bruce, 2004;Cubbin, Santelli, Brindis, & Braveman, 2005;Gordon-Larsen, Nelson, Page, & Popkin, 2006;Knoester & Haynie, 2005;Regnerus, 2003;Wickrama & Bryant, 2003;Wickrama, Noh, & Bryant, 2005). However, the dispersion of adolescents across neighborhoods is less than ideal. ...
Recent methodological research has addressed the important issue of sample size at each level when estimating multilevel models. Although several design factors have been investigated in these studies, differences between continuous and binary predictor variables have not been scrutinized (previous findings are based on models with continuous predictor variables). To help address this gap in the literature, this Monte Carlo study focused on the consequences of level-2 sparseness on the estimation of fixed and random effects coefficients in terms of model convergence and both point and interval parameter estimates. The 5,760 conditions simulated in the Monte Carlo study varied in terms of level-1 sample size, number of level-2 units, proportion of singletons (level-2 units with one observation), type of predictor, collinearity, intraclass correlation, and model complexity.
... The literature addressing the link between religious participation and health outcomes, including specifically HIV in SSA, focuses almost exclusively on the relationship between religious affiliation (or participation) and subsequent individual behaviors, attitudes and risk. As one recent example, in an attempt to move away from conceptualizing religious participation as a solely individual phenomenon, the "moral communities" thesis has shown that religion can be thought of more as a group phenomenon than an individual one (Stark 1996), and correspondingly can reduce particular risk behaviors (Ellison, Burr, and McCall 1997;Pescosolido 1990;Pescosolido and Georgianna 1989;Regnerus 2003). Even these studies, which argue for conceptualizing religion as a group level phenomenon, then turn to apply it to the study of risk as an individual level outcome. ...
... In more recent research, the concept of moral communities has helped us understand how social contexts influence human behavior, particularly when looking at deviance and crime [45][46][47], but also more family-related topics such as cohabitation [48]. Gault-Sherman and Draper [48] built upon prior individual-level research [49] showing that regardless of one's own beliefs regarding cohabitation, the religious beliefs of their parents had an impact on their own decisions regarding cohabitation. ...
Past work shows religion’s effect on women’s career decisions, particularly when these decisions involve work-family conflict. This study argues that the religious context of a geographic area also influences women’s solutions to work-family conflict through more or less pervasive normative expectations within the community regarding women’s roles and responsibilities to the family. We use the American Community Survey linked with community-level religious proportions to test the relationship between religious contexts and women’s participation in the labor force in the contiguous United States–2054 census geographic areas. Using spatial analysis, we find that community religious concentration is related to the proportion of women who choose not to work. Communities with a higher proportion of the population belonging to conservative religious traditions also have a greater proportion of married women choosing not to work outside the home.
Parents are crucial agents of religious socialization, but the broader social environment is also influential. A key question is whether parents are more or less influential when their religious beliefs and practices are not shared by people around them. Current thinking on the issue has largely been shaped by Kelley and De Graaf, who argued that parental religious socialization matters most in secular countries. We maintain that that conclusion is mistaken: levels of parental and national religiosity are both important, but their effects are largely independent of each other. Kelley and De Graaf's findings rely on the assumption that religious belief and practice are different expressions of the same underlying phenomenon (religiosity) and vary in the same way across time and space. These measures are not equivalent, however. In relatively religious societies, belief in God is widespread even among those who do not attend services, whereas in societies where religious involvement is low, nonchurchgoers tend to be nonbelievers.
This chapter first gives a brief overview of the origins, spread, and interaction of the major religious traditions and then discusses comparative and historical research about the social impact of religion. A major area of macro‐historical research in the sociology of religion has been the reconsideration of secularization theory – particularly at the level of individual belief and practice. The persistence of religious commitment and activity at the grassroots, particularly in the United States, spawned attempts to better theorize religious growth and strength. One important theoretical approach is the “religious economies” theory, which uses rational choice theory to try to explain the continued vitality of religion based on competition and strictness. A second theoretical approach to rethinking micro‐level secularization is “subcultural identity” theory. The chapter then shifts to research about individuals, starting with a discussion of survey measurement, and then discussing the impact of religion on various individual outcomes.
The news about sexual assaults and robbery committed by mostly young North African males on New Year’s Eve of 2015/2016 in Cologne and elsewhere went around the world. It triggered a revival of the question of the role religion plays in crime, in particular whether Muslims are more criminal. To answer this question, we investigate ethnic minority and majority youths’ delinquency in Cologne, Mannheim (Germany) and Brussels (Belgium) using unique large-scale datasets. Our results indicate that youths in Cologne are not exceptionally violent. In line with previous research, we find that religiosity is overall accompanied by lower levels of delinquency (vandalism, property offence, drug abuse, bullying), particularly among Muslims. However, in the case of violence, we reveal the opposite pattern. Yet, we discover that these acts are primarily committed by youths who describe themselves as religious without practising the abstinent lifestyle (i.e. abstaining from binge drinking) prescribed by some religions.
This article explores the relationships between institutional features of small college and university campuses and the levels of reported sexual assault. Using the mandated reporting of crime on campus through the Clery Act, we look at the combined levels of reported sexual assault for the years 2012 and 2013 at the main campuses of all accredited non‐profit, four‐year, residential, undergraduate colleges and universities in the United States that have a student body size of 2,000–2,999 students, N = 198. We find that the presence of a Greek life system, alcohol policy, religious affiliation, and the proportion of male students all influence the levels of reported sexual assault at colleges and universities, with alcohol policy being the strongest influence.
Religion has been found to be an important predictor in public opinions about life related issues. Because, religion serves as setting the moral rules to determine attitudes about what is right and wrong, people who value religion as important are more likely to have disapproving attitudes about sanctity of life, e.g., euthanasia, suicide, and abortion. This study draws on data from the fourth wave of the World Values Survey and multilevel models to explain the micro and macro influences of religion for public opinion about abortion, euthanasia, and suicide. Results found that more religious people and people in more religious countries are more disapproving of abortion, euthanasia, and suicide.
Drawing on arguments from institutional theory, this study examines how social norms—specifically, local religious social norms—affect the motivational impact of equity‐based incentives. We test our model using longitudinal data on local religious norms, CEO equity incentives, and firm value. Consistent with our theoretical predictions, we find that local religious social norms attenuate the impact of CEO option incentives upon firm value. Furthermore, we find that the attenuating impact of local religious social norms increases with managerial discretion. These findings provide valuable insight for human resource professionals aiming to design compensation contracts for employees that are aligned with firm goals. Our findings also contribute to research on the motivational effect of equity incentives by demonstrating the importance of considering the social context in which executives are embedded.
Based on self-report data of college students from Malaysia (N = 1,359) and the United States (N = 1,629), crime rates of the two samples are compared. Criminal behavior is much more common in the American sample despite the country's greater wealth. Negative binomial regression analysis reveals that the lower alcohol consumption and especially the greater religiosity of the Malaysian students help explain their lower crime rate. Theoretical implications, study limitations, and avenues for future research are discussed.
While most recent discussions of ''the battle over the family'' have focused on conflicts over gender roles, this study focuses on contemporary debates over childrearing practices. This work centers on the challenge to mainstream ''expert'' childrearing ideas posed by James Dobson and other conservative Protestant family advocates. Our study compares the recommendations of mainstream childrearing experts with those advanced by their conservative Protestant counterparts, with particular attention to four key areas: (1) long-term parenting goals; (2) the structure of parent-child relations; (3) the definition of parental roles; and (4) strategies of child discipline and punishment. Particular attention is devoted to the role of two key theological tenets-biblical ''literalism'' and belief that human nature is sinful - in legitimating the distinctive ''traditional'' childrearing practices endorsed by conservative Protestants. We conclude by discussing the implications of this research for subsequent work on conservative Protestantism and conflicts over family values and practices.
This study demonstrate that the empirical literature on the structural convariates of homicide rates contains inconsistent findings across different time periods and different geographical units. This apparent variance of findings may be due to statistical or methodological artifacts of particular studies, such as different time periods covered, units of analysis, samples, model specification, and problems of statistical analysis and inference. A baseline regression model using 11 structural covariates is estimated for cities, metropolitan areas, and states in 1960, 1970, and 1980. The empirical estimates of this model exhibit instability because of high levels of collinearity among several regressors. Principal components analysis is applied to simplify the dimensionally of the structural covariate space. Reestimation of the regression model then indicates that the apparent inconsistencies across time and social space are greatly reduced. The theoretical significance of the findings for substantive theor...
Multilevel models are becoming increasingly used in applied educational social and economic research for the analysis of hierarchically nested data. In these random coefficient regression models the parameters are allowed to differ over the groups in which the observations are nested. For computational ease in deriving parameter estimates, predictors are often centered around the mean. In nested or grouped data, the option of centering around the grand mean is extended with an option to center within groups or contexts. Both are statistically sound ways to improve parameter estimation. In this article we study the effects of these two different ways of centering, in comparison to the use of raw scores, on the parameter estimates in random coefficient models. The conclusion is that centering around the group mean amounts to fitting a different model from that obtained by centering around the grand mean or by using raw scores. The choice between the two options for centering can only be made on a theoretical basis. Based on this study, we conclude that centering rules valid for simple models, such as the fixed coefficients regression model. are no longer applicable to more complicated models, such as the random coefficient model. We think researchers should be made aware of the consequences of the choice of particular centering options.
With the theoretical backdrop of social disorganization and “resilient youth” perspectives, we hypothesize that individual religiosity is protective in helping at-risk youths such as those living in poor inner-city areas to escape from drug use and other illegal activities. To test this hypothesis, we draw data from an interview survey of 2,358 youth black males from tracts in poverty in Boston, Chicago, and Philadelphia, conducted in 1979 and 1980. Results from a series of multilevel analyses indicate that church attendance (the frequency of attending religious services) has significant inverse effects on nondrug illegal activities, drug use, and drug selling among disadvantaged youths. Religious salience (the perceived importance of religion in one's life), however, is not significantly linked to reductions in juvenile delinquency. We discuss the implications of our findings, focusing on individual religiosity as a potentially important protective factor for disadvantaged youths.
Since its original formulation in 1969 by Hirschi and Stark, the Hellfire hypothesis has undergone several significant revisions. This hypothesis asserts that involvement in deviant behavior is inversely related to religiosity. Early revisions of this hypothesis stressed the importance of religiosity on violations of ascetic norms over violations of secular norms. More recent revisions have stressed the interactive effects of religiosity and contextual factors such as denominational norms and aggregate religiosity. Each of these respecifications of the original Hellfire hypothesis is evaluated here with survey data on self-reported alcohol and marijuana use from a sample of 3,065 male and female adolescents in grades seven through twelve in three midwestern states. Results suggest that most of these revisions are only marginally more useful than the original formulation for explaining adolescent alcohol consumption and are largely irrelevant with regard to marijuana use. We find that the more parsimonious proposition of a direct religiosity effect alone does about as well in explaining alcohol and marijuana use among adolescents as the more complex contextual propositions.
In order to extend the study of community social disorganization and crime beyond its exclusive focus on large urban centers, we present an analysis of structural correlates of arrest rates for juvenile violence in 264 nonmetropolitan counties of four states. Findings support the generality of social disorganization theory: Juvenile violence was associated with rates of residential instability, family disruption, and ethnic heterogeneity. Though rates of poverty were not related to juvenile violence, this is also in accord with social disorganization theory because, unlike urban settings, poverty was negatively related to residential instability. Rates of juvenile violence varied markedly with population size through a curvilinear relationship in which counties with the smallest juvenile populations had exceptionally low arrest rates. Analyses used negative binomial regression (a variation of Poisson regression) because the small number of arrests in many counties meant that arrest rates would be ill suited to least-squares regression.
Bible believer (also Bible-believer, Bible-believing Christian, Bible-believing Church ) is a self-description by conservative Christians to differentiate their teachings from others who see non- or extrabiblical tradition as higher or equal in authority. In normal usage, "Bible believer" means an individual or organisation that believes the Christian Bible is true in some significant way. However, this combination of words is given a unique meaning in fundamentalist Protestant circles, where it is equated with the belief that the Christian Bible "contains no theological contradictions, historical discrepancies, or other such 'errors'", otherwise known as biblical inerrancy.
PART I THE LOGIC OF HIERARCHICAL LINEAR MODELING Series Editor 's Introduction to Hierarchical Linear Models Series Editor 's Introduction to the Second Edition 1.Introduction 2.The Logic of Hierarchical Linear Models 3. Principles of Estimation and Hypothesis Testing for Hierarchical Linear Models 4. An Illustration PART II BASIC APPLICATIONS 5. Applications in Organizational Research 6. Applications in the Study of Individual Change 7. Applications in Meta-Analysis and Other Cases where Level-1 Variances are Known 8. Three-Level Models 9. Assessing the Adequacy of Hierarchical Models PART III ADVANCED APPLICATIONS 10. Hierarchical Generalized Linear Models 11. Hierarchical Models for Latent Variables 12. Models for Cross-Classified Random Effects 13. Bayesian Inference for Hierarchical Models PART IV ESTIMATION THEORY AND COMPUTATIONS 14. Estimation Theory Summary and Conclusions References Index About the Authors
Numerous studies have examined the relationships between religious factors and aggregate suicide rates, with inconsistent
findings. We extend research on this topic by focusing on an overlooked variable: religious homogeneity, or the extent to
which community residents adhere to a single religion or a small number of faiths. After developing a series of arguments
linking religious homogeneity with lower suicide rates, we investigate this relationship using 1980 data on 296 SMSAs. As
hypothesized, religious homogeneity is inversely associated with suicide rates; its estimated effects are greater than those
of the other religious variables that are widely used in studies of suicide — percent Catholic and church member rates — and
they persist despite controls for established covariates of suicide rates. On closer inspection, we find regional differences
in the apparent influence of religious homogeneity. Protective effects are strongest in the SMSAs of the Northeast, and they
also surface in the South, while they are weaker in other areas of the U.S.
A long research tradition examines the relationships between religion and parental values, defined broadly as the traits that adults find most desirable in children. Two such traits have been of particular interest: "obedience" and "intellectual autonomy." We argue that contemporary Conservative Protestants are prone to endorse authoritarian parenting orientations disproportionately -- that is, to value obedience at the expense of autonomy. In addition, contrary to the thrust of some previous research, we hypothesize that Catholics tend to embrace more authoritarian child-rearing values than do non-Conservative Protestants and other Americans. OLS regression and structural equation models confirm that Conservative Protestants are especially supportive of obedience. However, they are no less enthusiastic than others about intellectual autonomy in children. Conservative Protestant valuation of obedience is linked with three theological positions: biblical literalism, belief that human nature is sinful, and punitive attitudes toward sinners. Hypotheses regarding Catholics are also confirmed, although the magnitude of Catholic effects is less pronounced. Several directions for future research on religious differences in parent-child relations are recommended.
This explanation of crime and deviance over the life course is based on the re-analysis of a classic set of data: Sheldon and Eleanor Glueck's mid-century study of 500 delinquents and 500 non-delinquents from childhood to adulthood. More than five years ago, Robert Sampson and John Laub dusted off 60 cartons of the Gluecks' data that had been stored in the basement of the Harvard Law School and undertook a lengthy process of recoding, computerizing, and reanalyzing it. On the basis of their findings, Sampson and Laub developed a theory of informal social control over the life course which integrates three ideas. First, social bonds to family and school inhibit delinquency in childhood and adolescence. Second, there is continuity in antisocial and deviant behaviour from childhood through adulthood across various dimensions, such as crime, alcohol abuse, divorce and unemployment. And finally, despite these continuities, attachment to the labour force and cohesive marriage sharply mitigate criminal activities. Sampson and Laub thus acknowledge the importance of childhood behaviours and individual differences, but reject the implication that adult social factors have little relevance. They seek to account for both stability and change in crime and deviance throughout the life course. "Crime in the making" challenges several major ideas found in contemporary theory and aims to provide an important new foundation for rethinking criminal justice policy.
This study tested multi-level models that represented relationships among individual-level and community-level measures of religiosity and measures of deviant behavior that individuals reported they would be likely to commit. Data came from 2,667 adult Catholics surveyed as part of the Notre Dame Study of Catholic Parish Life. Results from multivariate analyses supported the argument that the level of religiosity within a given social context affects projected deviance, although there was no evidence of any substantial interaction between personal- and community-level religiosity. Results also suggested that contextual effects are not necessarily consistent across all types of deviance.
Hirschi and Stark (1969) reported very little relationship between religious involvement and adolescent delinquency. They concluded that religion is therefore "irrelevant to delinquency." The present paper offers an alternative interpretation of their findings and tests one of its implications. It is hypothesized that Hirschi and Stark's findings apply only to offenses against persons and property, and that a clear relationship between religion and delinquency should be found for "victimless" crimes. Data from high-school students in the Pacific Northwest replicate Hirschi and Stark's findings but also reveal a moderately strong relationship between religion and the use of marijuana and alcohol. Suggestions are made for further tests of the alternative interpretation.
While Hirschi and Stark conclude that religiosity is unrelated to delinquency, their findings and a replication of their study
in the Pacific Northwest (Burkett and White) may not be generalizable to other areas of the country. Using self-report data
from 1,383 Atlanta tenth graders in 1970, we found a moderate negative relationship between church attendance and delinquent
behavior. Our data also suggest a causal structure in which respect for the juvenile court system links church attendance
with delinquency. We suspect that church attendance may be a truer reflection of adolescents' religious experience in the
South than the West, so accounting for the differences between our findings and those of previous research.
Although several sociological theories imply that religion deters individual deviance, until recently few empirical studies have tested this proposition. This article does so by using a unified ecological dataset that includes measures of suicide, crime, homosexuality, and cultism. Substantial negative associations between rates of church membership and rates of crime and cultism survive statistical controls, while the negative associations with suicide and homosexuality do not. The results pose a severe challenge to simple theories of the role of religion in society.
From the advent of this country, religious traditions and movements have displayed remarkable patterns of both withdrawal
from and engagement with American public life. We highlight this history, present a theory about selective deprivatization
in the past and present, and test for the current presence of religious privatization and deprivatization in the lives of
Americans. Our results conclude that a significant minority of Americans resist individual-level privatization. They want
religion to speak to social and political issues, and act accordingly. Among religious traditions, conservative movements
such as evangelical Protestantism are the most publicly oriented, constituting a reversal of past generations. Liberal Protestants,
once the most powerful religious voice in public arenas, are now much more privatized than conservative traditions.
This paper investigates the influence of the metropolitan residential environment on church organizational activities. Three
major dimensions of organizational activity are evident among individual churches in the Seattle and Nashville regions: service
toward the community, efforts to help individuals solve problems, and emphasis on religious activity within the church. On
the whole, the residential environment has the greatest influence on the orientation of the church to community service, and
the least effect on internal religiosity. The degree to which churches are socially integrated with the surrounding territory
is especially important for furthering the community goal. Specific population and locational characteristics of the local
community are less useful as predictors of church activities.
In this paper, a method for studying DIF is demonstrated that can used with either dichotomous or polytomous items. The method is shown to be valid for data that follow a partial credit IRT model. It is also shown that logistic regression gives results equivalent to those of the proposed method. In a simulation study, positively biased type 1 error rates of the method are shown to be in accord with results from previous studies; however, the size of the bias in the log odds is moderate. Finally, it is demonstrated how these statistics can be used to study DIF variability with the method of Longford, Holland, & Thayer (1993).
Recent research on conservative Protestantism suggests that religion has reemerged as an important predictor of childrearing attitudes and practices. This research has focused on the distinctive approach toward discipline among conservative Protestant parents. No study, however, has explored the links between conservative Protestantism and positive parental emotion work (physical and verbal expression of affection). I suggest, paradoxically, that this subculture is characterized by both strict discipline and an unusually warm and expressive style of parent-child interaction. I review parenting advice offered by conservative Protestant leaders, which encourages parents to engage in positive emotion work with their children. I then analyze data from the 1987-1988 National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH) to determine if religious affiliation and theological conservatism are related to positive parental emotion work. I find that parents with conservative theological beliefs are more likely to praise and hug their children than are parents with less conservative theological views. Modest positive net effects of conservative Protestant affiliation are also found.
Do religious beliefs and behaviors deter criminal behavior? The existing evidence surrounding the effect of religion on crime is varied, contested, and inconclusive, and currently no persuasive answer exists as to the empirical relationship between religion and crime. In this article, the authors address this controversial issue with a meta-analysis of 60 previous studies based on two questions: (1) What is the direction and magnitude of the effect of religion on crime? (2) Why have previous studies varied in their estimation of this effect? The results of the meta-analysis show that religious beliefs and behaviors exert a moderate deterrent effect on individuals' criminal behavior. Furthermore, previous studies have systematically varied in their estimation of the religion-on-crime effect due to differences in both their conceptual and methodological approaches.
Confusion has developed in the literature over whether religious commitment decreases delinquent behavior. In this paper we show that conflicting findings stem from variations in the religious ecology of the communities studied. In communities where religious commitment is the norm, the more religious an individual, the less likely he or she will be delinquent. However, in highly secu larized communities, even the most devout teenagers are no less delinquent than the most irreligious. This is why the initial studies found no religious ef fects on delinquency. Each was based on highly secularized West Coast com munities, and the results generalize only to similar communities in that area. Elsewhere in the nation, studies have found strong religious effects on delin quency. Using a national sample of sixteen-year-old boys from eighty-seven high schools, we show there is a very substantial negative relationship between religious commitment and delinquency in the great majority of schools-those schools in which religious students are a majority. But the relationship vanishes in the most highly secularized West Coast schools. The theoretical implications of these marked ecological effects are assessed.
Does religion have the power to regulate human behavior? If so, under what conditions can it prevent crime, delinquency, suicide, alcoholism, drug abuse, or joining cults? Despite the fact that ordinary citizens assume religion deters deviant behavior, there has been little systematic scientific research on these crucial questions. This book is the first comprehensive analysis, drawing on a wide range of historical and contemporary data, and written in a style that will appeal to readers from many intellectual backgrounds.
The strength of strict churches is neither a historical coincidence nor a statistical artifact. Strictness makes organizations stronger and more attractive because it reduces free riding. It screens out members who lack commitment and stimulates participation among those who remain. Rational choice theory thus explains the success of sects, cults, and conservative denominations without recourse to assumptions of irrationality, abnormality, or misinformation. The theory also predicts differences between strict and lenient groups, distinguishes between effective and counterproductive demands, and demonstrates the need to adapt strict demands in response to social change. In 1972 Dean Kelley published a remarkable book titled Why Conservative Churches Are Growing (Kelley 1986). In it he documented a striking shift in the fortunes of America's oldest and largest Protestant denominations. After two centuries of growth that culminated in the 1950s, virtually all mainline Protestant denominations had begun losing members. The losses, however, were far from uniform. Liberal denominations were declining much more rapidly than conservative denominations, and the most conservative were growing. The varying rates of growth and decline meant that the mainline denominations' misfortune could not be attributed to pervasive secularization. A valid explanation could only be rooted in traits or circumstances that differed from one denomination to the next. Kelley proposed such an explanation. He traced the success of conservative churches to their ability to attract and retain an active and
More than 10 years ago the author proposed a contextual-interactional explanation of the fact that research done on the West Coast fails to find a relationship between religious commitment and delinquency, while studies done elsewhere invariably find a strong negative correlation. Unfortunately, because of various deficiencies, subsequent studies that claimed to test the contextual explanation have not done so - leaving the literature more confused than ever. In an effort to clarify matters, this paper carefully restates the contextual theory and then tests it on data from a very large survey of high school seniors. The results demonstrate the existence of a very potent contextual effect.
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Since 1993, in response to a movement sponsored by the Southern Baptist Church, over 2.5 million adolescents have taken public "virginity" pledges, in which they promise to abstain from sex until marriage. This paper explores the effect of those pledges on the transition to first intercourse. Adolescents who pledge are much less likely to have intercourse than adolescents who do not pledge. The delay effect is substantial. On the other hand, the pledge does not work for adolescents at ail ages. Second, pledging delays intercourse only in contexts where there are some, but not too many, pledgers. The pledge works because it is embedded in an identity movement. Consequently, the pledge identity is meaningful only in contexts where it is at least partially nonnormative. Consequences of pledging are explored for those who break their promise. Promise breakers are less likely than others to use contraception at first intercourse.
In this article, the author proposes dynamic contextualism as a promising paradigm for future criminological inquiry. This approach recognizes and attempts to join developmental and historical insights, event structures and community context, qualitative narratives and causal explanation, and ultimately, time and place. At core, the author focuses on the unfolding of human lives in particular contexts, but argues that one must also come to grips with social change and the simultaneous—sometimes asynchronous—changing of lives and macrolevel forces (e.g., community, societal). In making his case, the author highlights the key limitations of current community-level and longitudinal approaches, and then presents concrete alternative strategies for future research designs.
This book presents the results of 20 years of ecological research into the nature of the relationship between the distribution of delinquency and the pattern of physical structure and social organization of 21 American cities. Uniform findings in every city confirm the hypothesis that the physical deterioration of residential areas accompanied by social disorganization is greatest in a central zone in the business district, intermediate in a middle zone, and lowest in the other zones, and that there is a progressive decline in the incidence of delinquency from the innermost zone where it is most concentrated to the peripheral areas. Delinquency is found to be highly correlated with changes in population, inadequate housing, poverty, presence of Negroes and foreign-born, tuberculosis, mental disorders, and adult criminality. The common basic factor is social disorganization or the absence of community effort to cope with these conditions. Causation of juvenile delinquency is to be sought more in terms of the community than of the individual. 107 maps pertaining to the cities studied and 118 tables relating to population and delinquency rates are included as well as a chapter describing the Chicago Area Project as a demonstration of the effective mobilization of community forces to combat delinquency and crime. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This research addresses the relationship between conservative Protestantism and the perceived wrongfulness of crimes. In a recent study, Warr (1989) identified “nondiscriminators”—people who perceived a wide range of crimes to be equally morally wrong. Although lacking measures of religion, Warr hypothesized, based on their written comments, that the respondents used religious beliefs to assess wrongfulness. Since Protestant theology tends to view morality categorically, with no gradations between the extremes, those individuals who most strongly adhere to this doctrine may be the nondiscriminators. This study tests and finds strong support for this hypothesis, which has important implications for the recent shift toward increased punitiveness in sentencing, research concerning public perceptions of crime, and studies of religion.
After a period of decline in the discipline, the social disorganization model of Shaw and McKay is again beginning to appear in the literature. This paper examines five criticisms of the perspective and discusses recent attempts to address those issues and problems that are still in need of resolution.
Video-based media spaces are designed to support casual interaction between intimate collaborators. Yet transmitting video is fraught with privacy concerns. Some researchers suggest that the video stream be filtered to mask out potentially sensitive ...
Shaw and McKay's influential theory of community social disorganization has never been directly tested. To address this, a community-level theory that builds on Shaw and McKay's original model is formulated and tested. The general hypothesis is that low economic status, ethnic heterogeneity, residential mobility, and family disruption lead to community social disorganization, which, in turn, increases crime and delinquency rates. A community's level of social organization is measure in terms of local friendship networks, control of street-corner teenage peer groups, and prevalence of organizational participation. The model is first tested by analyzing data for 238 localities in Great Britain constructed from a 1982 national survey of 10,905 residents. The model is then replicated on an independent national sample of 11,030 residents of 300 British localities in 1984. Results from both surveys support the theory and show that between-community variations in social disorganization transmit much of the effect of community structural characteristics on rates of both criminal victimization and criminal offending. Sociology
In recent years, the earnings of young blacks have risen substantially relative to those of young whites, but their rates of joblessness have also risen to crisis levels. The papers in this volume, drawing on the results of a groundbreaking survey conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research, analyze the history, causes, and features of this crisis. The findings they report and conclusions they reach revise accepted explanations of black youth unemployment. The contributors identify primary determinants on both the demand and supply sides of the market and provide new information on important aspects of the problem, such as drug use, crime, economic incentives, and attitudes among the unemployed. Their studies reveal that, contrary to popular assumptions, no single factor is the predominant cause of black youth employment problems. They show, among other significant factors, that where female employment is high, black youth employment is low; that even in areas where there are many jobs, black youths get relatively few of them; that the perceived risks and rewards of crime affect decisions to work or to engage in illegal activity; and that churchgoing and aspirations affect the success of black youths in finding employment. Altogether, these papers illuminate a broad range of economic and social factors which must be understood by policymakers before the black youth employment crisis can be successfully addressed.
This paper redirects debates over the religion-suicide link away from specific empirical quarrels to a consideration of Durkheim's general proposition regarding religion's protective power. We argue that his proposition must be tailored to social and historical contexts and that research must specify the underlying social mechanism at work. A consideration of historical trends leads to a more detailed specification of religions in analyses of contemporary cases, and more importantly, to an inductive elaboration of Durkheim's theoretical underpinnings. Analysis of religion's effects on United States county group suicide rates in 1970 reveals that religion continues to affect suicide rates, with Catholicism and Evangelical Protestantism tending to lower rates, and Institutional Protestantism tending to increase them. The presence of Jewish adherents produces a small but inconsistent protective effect. We attempt to account for these results first by examining a variety of standard religious typologies and second by examining evidence on whether religious affiliation reflects the operation of network ties. Finding this evidence suggestive, we move toward a network reinterpretation to clarify and elaborate Durkheim's theory.
With a set of relevant controls, including population change, income, urbanity, unemployment, and female labor-force participaion, Durkheim's religious and family integration hypotheses are tested with new and highly reliable church membership rates and similar divorce rates. Eight data sets are analyzed at two levels of analysis, state and county: 50 states at six different times betwen 1933 and 1980 and 216 counties in 1970 and 1980. The religous and family integration variables are generally supported at both levels of analysis and across the 47 years of the study. Contrary to previous studies, support is found for Durkheim's thesis that Catholics have lower suicide rates than non-Catholics. Strong Catholic/non-Catholic suicide differences are found even when the analysis is extended to 414 counties in 1970 and 1980.