The Effect of Religion on Adolescent Delinquency Revisited

Abstract

This is a study of 1,093 adolescents who attended public high schools in rural Arkansas; Little Rock, Arkansas; or Baltimore, Maryland. The results do not support the hypothesis that antiascetic behaviors are more affected by religiosity than are criminal behaviors. Nor does the study support the theoretical hypothesis that religiosity is an antecedent factor that has effects that are fully mediated through other more proximate elements of social control. It also finds few real differences in the effects of religiosity on various forms of delinquency between Baltimore, Maryland; Little Rock, Arkansas; and rural areas of Arkansas. Implications of the study are discussed.