Religion: The Forgotten Factor in Cutting Youth Crime and Saving At-Risk Urban Youth

• NCJ Number: 202936
• Author(s): David B. Larson M.D.; Byron R. Johnson Ph.D.
• Date Published: 2003
• Length: 29 pages
• Sale Source: Manhattan Institute For Policy Research
• Publication Format: Document (Online)
• Publication Type: Literature Review
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Downloaded November 7, 2003.

Annotation

This paper reports on a review of the research literature that pertains to the influence of religion in preventing youth crime.

Abstract

The literature reviewed consisted of journal articles that examined the effect of religion on juvenile delinquency and were published between January 1980 and December 1997. In order to be selected for review, the study was required to have at least one "quantified variable," defined as one about which data were collected for a group of subjects; be published in a peer-reviewed journal in the United States; involved a sample from the United States; and analyzed both religiosity and juvenile delinquency measures. A total of 40 articles out of a pool of 402 studies examined the relationship between religiosity and juvenile delinquency. Six categories of religious measures were examined: attendance at religious activities, the importance of religion in one's life, religious denomination, prayer, the study of scripture, and participation in religious activities both inside and outside typical church settings. Many of the studies in the sample of articles did not use random sampling, did not use multiple indicators to control measurement errors, and did not test for the reliability of their religious measures. Almost all of the studies had mono-method bias, and very few studies were based on longitudinal data. These findings on study methodology suggest that the previously assumed inconsistent findings on the role of religion in explaining delinquency have been due in part to different research strategies used in the state-of-the-art sociological and criminological research. With improvements in measurement and analytical methods, there should be more consistent empirical results. Most of the studies reviewed found that religion had an inverse, or beneficial, impact on delinquency. This was particularly true with the studies that used a higher quality of research methodology. This literature review recommends that more high-quality research be conducted to assess the degree and nature of the impact of various types of religious experiences and activities on a youth's attitudes and behaviors. 54 references