Background

Fear of crime is not only a reflection of the prevalence of crime and victimization but also varies by individual and social characteristics such as gender and social integration. Religion is another attribute that influences worldviews and structures social interactions, and thus may affect fear of crime.

Purpose

Given the importance of religion in American life and the micro and macro costs associated with fear of crime, we examine the associations between various aspects of religion (i.e. religious tradition, service attendance, prayer, biblical literalism, born-again identity, and changes in religious affiliation) and Americans’ fear of crime.

Methods

We use nationally representative survey data collected between 2004 and 2018 and binary logistic regression models with relevant controls.

Results

Partial models each with a single measure of religion and control variables show that service attendance, prayer, biblical literalism, born-again identity, and transitioning from no religious affiliation to having a religious affiliation are all positively associated with fear of crime while mainline Protestant affiliation is negatively associated with fear of crime. In full models that include all the religion variables, however, born-again identification is the only religion measure with a robust association with fear of crime, though this association appears to decline in magnitude over time. Changes in religious affiliation and prayer have more moderate, positive associations with fear of crime in the full models.

Conclusions and Implications

Religion appears to influence fear of crime through worldviews and both static and dynamic identities, particularly the born-again Christian identity. With the born-again label becoming more prevalent, and the nation becoming more polarized, fear of crime may remain high, regardless of the level of crime and victimization; and heightened fear of crime can have negative consequences for individuals and communities, such as the potential negative repercussions for born-again Christians’ mental health.

中文翻译：

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宗教与 21 世纪美国人对犯罪的恐惧

背景

对犯罪的恐惧不仅反映了犯罪和受害的普遍性，而且还因性别和社会融合等个人和社会特征而异。宗教是影响世界观和构建社会互动的另一个属性，因此可能会影响对犯罪的恐惧。

目的

鉴于宗教在美国人生活中的重要性以及与犯罪恐惧相关的微观和宏观成本，我们研究了宗教各个方面（即宗教传统、服务出席、祈祷、圣经字面主义、重生身份和宗教信仰）和美国人对犯罪的恐惧。

方法

我们使用 2004 年至 2018 年间收集的具有全国代表性的调查数据和具有相关控制的二元逻辑回归模型。

结果

每个具有单一宗教测量和控制变量的部分模型表明，服务出勤率、祈祷、圣经字面主义、重生身份以及从无宗教信仰到有宗教信仰的转变都与对犯罪的恐惧呈正相关，而主流新教信仰与对犯罪的恐惧呈正相关与对犯罪的恐惧呈负相关。然而，在包含所有宗教变量的完整模型中，重生认同是唯一与对犯罪的恐惧有强烈关联的宗教衡量标准，尽管这种关联似乎随着时间的推移而下降。在完整模型中，宗教信仰和祈祷的变化与对犯罪的恐惧有更温和、更积极的关联。

结论和意义

宗教似乎通过世界观以及静态和动态身份，特别是重生的基督徒身份来影响对犯罪的恐惧。随着重生标签变得更加普遍，国家变得更加两极分化，无论犯罪和受害程度如何，对犯罪的恐惧可能仍然很高；对犯罪的高度恐惧会对个人和社区产生负面影响，例如对重生基督徒的心理健康产生潜在的负面影响。