Religion may operate as a social force for reducing negative behaviors and for increasing positive behaviors.

1. SPIRITUALITY AND CRIME Presenter: Kanwal Fatima
Subject: Sociology Of
Religion

2. TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Religion Defined
Crime Defined
The Role of Religiosity and spirituality in Juvenile Delinquency.
Is it Important to Answer !!
Theoretical Perspective (How Does Religion Matter for Crime
Reduction?).
Conflict V/S Functionalist Perspective.
Conclusion.

3. INTRODUCTION
Religiosity (a cognitive and behavioral commitment to organized
religion) is associated with factors such as ,
1. Inter-personal friendliness
2. Psychological and physical well-being
3. Comfort for those who have faced difficult situations i.e: family
problem, divorce, unemployment etc
Today’s Theme is :
Religion may operate as a social force for reducing negative behaviors
and for increasing positive behaviors.

4. IS IT IMPORTANT TO ANSWER
!!
Pressing Issue
One of the Channel
Of Religion
Evidences

5. RELIGION DEFINED:
Religion comes from the Latin word religare, which means, “to
bind together”.
Religion usually refers to “beliefs, practices, and rituals
related to the sacred” (Koenig, 2009, p.284).
The term “sacred” often refers to objects or beings (i.e. God, Allah)
considered to be supernatural, holy, or transcendent (Paragament,
1990).
Religion then provided differing degrees of “social cement” that held
societies and cultures together.

6. SPIRITUALITY V/S RELIGION
• The search for meaning
in life events and
yearning connectedness
to the Universe.
Spirituality
• Religion is an organized
system of ideas about
spiritual reality, or the
supernatural, along with
associated beliefs and
ceremonial practices.
Religion

7. CRIME DEFINED :
What is Crime?
Behavior that violates official law and is punishable through
formal sanctions. The punishment of crime will be more severe
than the punishment of deviance.
Crime varies from society to society and it can be reduced but
never completely eliminated. Even in a “society of saints”
populated by perfect individuals, someone would eventually
“slip up”.
Karl MARX:
Crime is inevitable as it is
based on the exploitation
of the proletariat.
Alienation and lack of
control may lead to
frustration and this could
be the cause of crime.
DURKHEIM:
Crime is inevitable and a
normal part of everyday
society. A certain amount
of crime is functional for
society.

8. THE ROLE OF
RELIGIOSITY AND
SPIRITUALITY IN
JUVENILE DELINQUENCY
LETS ANALYZE TWO
PUBLISHED
ARTICLES …

9. NO TIME FOR CRIME: STUDY FINDS
MORE RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES HAVE
LOWER RATES OF CRIME
BY DAVID BRIGGS WRITER, ASSOCIATION OF RELIGION DATA ARCHIVES
Some new research suggests the answer is yes !!
Violent crime decreased as greater numbers of people were
religiously active in a community, according to a study analyzing
crime and religion, data from 182 countries in three states.
“In the big picture, religious presence seems to matter to the amount
of violence and crime in a community,” says Jeffery Ulmer, a professor
of sociology and crime, law and justice at Pennsylvania State
University who led the county-level study.

10. HOW RELIGION CUTS CRIME: CHURCH-
GOERS ARE LESS LIKELY TO, TAKE DRUGS
AND DOWNLOAD MUSIC ILLEGALLY
A survey from Manchester University found a direct correlation
between higher visits to religious places and lower crime figures,
especially in relation to, drug use and music piracy.
Researchers believe this is because religion not only teaches people
about 'moral and behavioral norms', but also spending time with like-
minded people makes it less likely they'll get mixed up with the
'wrong crowd'.
Researchers surveyed 1,214 people about how often they visited a
place of worship, stock image of a church is pictured, across all of
UK's major faiths. The respondents were also asked if they'd ever
taken part in low-level crime. The study found a direct correlation
with higher visits to religious places and lower crime rates

11. REVIEW OF EMPIRICAL
STUDY
The first major empirical study of religion and crime was conducted
by Travis Hirschi and Rodney Stark (1969).
They used survey data on youth from California to test the hellfire
hypothesis, which predicted that religion could deter crime on the
individual level through the fear of supernatural sanctions.
At the same time encourage prosocial behaviors through the hope
and promise of supernatural rewards.
Since Hirschi and Stark’s landmark study, investigators have
produced approximately two studies per year on this topic. The
relationship between religion and crime has also been the subject of a
metaanalysis (Baier & Wright, 2001)

12. THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE
1. Social Control Theory :
Travis Hirschi , a renowned criminologist introduced in 1969 The
Social Bond Theory,
which he connected to Religious institutions in his later work.
“Delinquent acts are a result of an individual’s
weak or Broken bond to Society”
Attachment
Commitment
Involvement
Belief
Four
Convention
al bonds

14. THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE
2. Arousal Theory:
From more Sociobiological Perspective , Arousal Theory attributes
criminal behavior to an Individual’s demand for Neural stimulation.
“Delinquents are essentially bored individuals, so they seek risky
behavior to satisfy their biological demand for neural
stimulation”
However ,Religion satisfies this need for most individuals.
(Baeir and Wright,2001)

15. CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR AND
PRO-SOCIAL ACTS
The avoidance of criminal and deviant behaviors is the promotion of
prosocial behaviors.
Christopher Ellison (1992) contended that religiosity may be linked
with prosocial behaviors for two key reasons.
1. Individuals with higher levels of religious commitment are more
likely to engage in religious role-taking such that they interact
with others according to their perceptions of what a “divine other”
would expect.
2. Religious individuals may internalize religious norms concerning
kindness, empathy, and civility.

16. CONFLICT V/S
FUNCTIONALIST
PERSPECTIVE

17. EMILE DURKHEIM ON
RELIGION
The Functionalist Approach to Religion has its roots in Durkheim’s work on
Religion.
Given this approach Durkheim proposed that religion has three major
functions in society:
1. Social Cohesion
2. Social Control
3. Providing Meaning and Purpose
"Since it is in spiritual ways that social pressure exercises itself,
it could not fail to give men the idea that outside themselves
there exist one or several powers, both moral and, at the
same time, efficacious, upon which they depend."
(1973, p. 171 [excerpt from The Elementary Forms
of the Religious Life])

18. KARL MARX ON RELIGION
According to Karl Marx, religion plays an important role in
maintaining the Status-quo in society.
Marx argued that Religion is a tool for Bourgeoisie to keep the
proletariat content. Marx argued that religion is able to do this by
promising rewards in after-life rather than this life.
‘Religion is sigh of oppressed creature , the feeling of heartless
world. It is the Opium for people… the abolition of Religion as the
illusory happiness of people is the demand for their real Happiness’
-Karl Marx

19. CONCLUSION