The religious institutional base and violent crime in rural areas

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-1-2006

Abstract

Research on the relationship between religion and crime has typically focused on individual religiosity and delinquency, or moral communities and crime at the macro level. This study extends prior research by delineating the sociological implications of a strong religious institutional base, and investigating the ties between the religious institutional base and violent crime across rural communities. Multivariate regression analysis of Uniform Crime Report data on violent crime, Census of Churches and Church membership data, and U.S. Census data circa 2000 reveal that rural violent crime rates on average are consistently lower where there are more churches per capita. This relationship holds net of the overall adherence rates, the presence of civically engaged religious adherents, and the presence of conservative Protestant adherents. Moreover, regional variations are evident, with the South and the Midwest - two highly religious regions of the country - sustaining most of the observed institutional effects. © 2006 The Society of the Scientific Study of Religion.

Publication Source (Journal or Book title)

Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion

First Page

309

Last Page

324

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