NCJ Number
163112
Journal
Criminology Volume: 34 Issue: 3 Dated: (August 1996) Pages: 453-464
Date Published
1996
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This research addresses the relationship between conservative Protestantism and the perceived wrongfulness of crimes.
Abstract
In a recent study, one researcher identified nondiscriminators, people who perceive a wide range of crimes to be equally morally wrong. Although lacking measures of religion, the researcher 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 that doctrine may be the nondiscriminators. This study tests and finds strong support for the hypothesis, which has important implications for the recent shift toward increased punitiveness in sentencing, research concerning public perceptions of crime, and studies of religion. There was a 90 percent increase in the prison population between 1980 and 1988 and a 59 percent increase in corrections expenditures, with little effect on crime rate, suggesting that another national debate may focus on the fiscal and social consequences of increased punitiveness. Footnotes, tables, references