Jughead
VIP Member
As a churchgoer, I am aware that my faith is a strong factor in my life as it directly influences who I am and my behavior. If there is ever a temptation to commit a crime, my faith takes over. My faith is always stronger than any temptation to commit a crime.
Here is an article that is based on older studies which have the same conclusion:
Good Faith
Here is an article that is based on older studies which have the same conclusion:
Crime and Delinquency
Dozens of academic studies show that even after adjustments are made for family influence, neighborhood, race, income, and other factors, religious commitment (particularly church attendance) clearly discourages delinquency among youth.
The National Survey of Families and Households tallied adolescent behavior problems like getting into trouble with the police, being suspended from school, running away from home, or developing emotional problems that require seeing a doctor. And researchers found that in every single family type two-parent, one-parent, married, unmarried, step families, extended families, adopted families, etc. parental church involvement is associated with significantly fewer behavior problems.
A sampling of 46,000 sixth- through twelfth-graders showed that those who attend religious services at least once a month are only half as likely to engage in vandalism, substance abuse, drunk driving, and other problem behaviors.
Extensive research by Harvard economist Richard Freeman and associates found that, all other factors being equal, inner-city residents who go to church are 59 percent less likely to commit crimes. (Teens are also far less likely to drop out of school, and adults more likely to hold a job, if they are worshippers.)
Church attendance is a more accurate predictor of criminal behavior than whether an individual lived in public housing, grew up in a single-parent household, or had parents who received welfare.
Churchgoing is the factor that most affects who escapes urban poverty, and is associated with "substantial differences in the behavior of youth . [It] affects allocation of time, school attendance, work activity, and the frequency of socially deviant activity," according to a book-length study by the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Investigations show that the religious are less likely to cheat on their taxes.
A survey of 24,000 magazine readers found that many admitted to serious lapses in ethical behavior more than four out of ten had driven while intoxicated; 38 percent had cheated on their taxes; a third had deceived their best friend about something important within the previous year. Investigators found two clear patterns in these results: Younger respondents were most likely to engage in illegal or unethical behavior. And the more religious people were, the less likely they were to commit these morally questionable acts.
Inmates in prisons who make a religious commitment are less likely to return to jail after their release.
Historical studies by Christie Davies, James Q. Wilson, and others note that society-wide crime decreases often correlate with religious renewals, and that crime increases often take place when religion is falling from favor.
Good Faith