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Cited by 255Crime Patterns and InterventionsReligion and Society InteractionsCrime, Deviance, and Social Control

Moral Communities and Adolescent Delinquency: Religious Contexts and Community Social Control

Regnerus, Mark D.·2003·The Sociological Quarterly
DOI 10.1111/j.1533-8525.2003.tb00524.x
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Abstract

This study bridges the sociological subdisciplines of religion and criminology and examines whether religious characteristics of groups and social contexts might profitably augment social disorganization theory, providing a morally and socially organizing force in a community. Building on the “moral communities” thesis of Rodney Stark (1996), I test whether religion, when understood as a group property, is linked significantly with lower delinquency among individuals in schools and counties where select religious characteristics are high. Moreover, I also examine whether—as Stark suggests—the efficacy of individual religious traits is heightened in social environments where religiousness is more pronounced. Employing multilevel regression models, I test several hypotheses using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. While individual religious effects remain strongest, conservative Protestant homogeneity in both countries and schools corresponds with lower theft and minor delinquency counts. Additionaly, such religious homogeneity interacts with individual-level measures of conservative Protestantism, further reducing incidence (especially of theft). I explore the mechanisms by which communities' religious characteristics likely influence individual behavior and conclude that religion is a neglected yet potentially important cultural aspect of social organization in communities.

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  • Of the 60 delinquency/crime studies with quality ratings of 7 or higher, 49 (82%) reported inverse relationships and only one study found a positive relationship.

    “Of the 60 studies with quality ratings of 7 or higher, 49 (82%) reported inverse relationships [240–252] and only one study found a positive relationship [253].”

    From Religion, Spirituality, and Health: The Research and Clinical Implications (2012) · cites this paper as [242]

  • County-level suicide rates are lower in counties with strong moral communities.

    “For example, county-level suicide rates (which count the suicides of both adherents and nonadherents) are lower in counties with strong moral communities (Pescosolido 1990;Regnerus 2003:526).”

    From The Effect of Religiosity on Tax Fraud Acceptability: A Cross‐National Analysis (2006) · cites this paper as Regnerus 2003

  • The overwhelming majority of studies fail to test the moral communities hypothesis.

    “First, the overwhelming majority of studies fail to test the moral communities hypothesis that holds that individual-level religiosity will have the strongest effect on deviance when individual-level religiosity is reinforced by a high level of religiosity in the community (Baier and Wright 2001;Regnerus 2003;Stark 1996).”

    From The Effect of Religiosity on Tax Fraud Acceptability: A Cross‐National Analysis (2006) · cites this paper as Regnerus 2003

  • Almost all relevant studies on religion and deviance are limited to juveniles.

    “Third, almost all of the relevant studies are limited to juveniles (e.g., Baier and Wright 2001;Regnerus 2003).”

    From The Effect of Religiosity on Tax Fraud Acceptability: A Cross‐National Analysis (2006) · cites this paper as Regnerus 2003

  • Communities with a strong moral community may reduce deviant attitudes and behavior of individuals regardless of the individuals' own level of religiosity.

    “Communities with a strong moral community may be expected to reduce the deviant attitudes and behavior of individuals in them regardless of the individuals' own level of religiosity (Regnerus 2003:524).”

    From The Effect of Religiosity on Tax Fraud Acceptability: A Cross‐National Analysis (2006) · cites this paper as Regnerus 2003

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Authors
Regnerus, M. D.
Affiliations
The University of Texas at Austin (US)
Corresponding author
Regnerus, Mark D.
ORCID
Regnerus, Mark D.
Venue
The Sociological Quarterly
Publisher
Informa UK Limited
Published
2003-09-01
Volume
44
Issue
4
Pages
523-554
ISSN
  • 0038-0253 (ISSN-L)
  • 1533-8525
DOI
10.1111/j.1533-8525.2003.tb00524.x
OpenAlex
W1554149176
Cited by
255
References
72
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 46 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 21 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 15 · 2012: 14
FWCI
11.73
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
doi.wiley.com/10.1002/tdm_license_1.1 (tdm, 4383 d)
Locations
Sociological Quarterly (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Crime Patterns and Interventions
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Religion and Society Interactions
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Crime, Deviance, and Social Control
Keywords
moral community, juvenile delinquency, religious homogeneity, conservative Protestantism, social control, social disorganization theory, theft, religion and crime, Add Health

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