Does Religious Involvement Generate or Inhibit Fear of Crime?

Abstract

Abstract:In victimology, fear of crime is understood as an emotional response to the perceived threat of crime. Fear of crime has been found to be affected by several variables besides local crime rates and personal experiences with victimization. This study examines the relationship between religion and fear of crime, an underexplored topic in the criminological literature. This gap is rather surprising given the central role religion has been found to play in shaping the attitudes and perceptions of congregants. In particular, religion has been found to foster generalized trust, which should engender lower levels of distrust or misanthropy, including that which is directed towards a general fear of crime. OLS regression was performed using data from the West Georgia Area Survey (n = 380). Controlling for demographic, community involvement, and political ideology variables, frequency of religious attendance was significantly and negatively associated with fear of property crime. This relationship remained even after a perceived neighborhood safety variable was introduced to the model. However, religious attendance was not significantly related to fear of violent crime, and religious orientation was unrelated to fear of property and violent crime. These results suggest that religious involvement conditionally reduces fear of crime, and the authors recommend that future research explore relationships between religion and fear of crime.

An Israeli Model for Predicting Fear of Terrorism Based on Community and Individual Factors

“…The lack of a direct correlation between fear of crime and religiosity is compatible with other findings (Shechory-Bitton & Silawi, 2019). However, the findings in this context are not unequivocal, as others have reported that religious faith reduces fear of crime (e.g., Matthews, Johnson, & Jenks, 2011). This must be further studied.…”

“…In any case, it may be assumed that religion can serve as a buffer to fear. Compatible with the findings of others (e.g., Matthews et al, 2011), religious people described their neighborhood as safer and their social relationships as stronger than did secular people, predicting lower levels of fear.…”

“…The perception of religious people in these contexts is undoubtedly related to the nature of the community ties customary within religious populations (Matthews et al, 2011). Communal life centering around religion (prayers in the synagogue, joint celebrations of various holidays, and social events focusing on religious topics) (Shechory-Bitton, 2014) and social religious support (Solomon & Berger, 2005) also facilitates social surveillance and reduction of crime rates in the neighborhood.…”

Awash in a Sea of Faith and Firearms: Rediscovering the Connection Between Religion and Gun Ownership in America

“…As no one has directly examined the effect of religious involvement on gun ownership, we can only speculate on possible connections based on research on other outcomes. For example, Matthews, Johnson, and Jenks () find religious involvement related to lower levels of fear of certain types of crime. They connect higher levels of religious involvement to lower levels of fear through the lower levels of misanthropy among those who are more religiously involved.…”

Religious Identity and Perceptions of Criminal Justice Effectiveness

“…A small number of studies have found religious involvement to be related to perceptions having to do with crime itself. For example, in a sample of residents in western Georgia (United States), Matthews, Johnson, and Jenks (Matthews et al 2011) found that attendance at religious services was negatively related to fear of property crime, suggesting that religious involvement reduces fear of victimization. In addition, several studies have examined the impact of religion upon criminal behavior, usually finding that religion variables are associated with lower criminality (Adamczyk et al 2017).…”