This question is addressed by Jan-Philip Steinmann and Miriam Kiene in their article “The good, the bad, and the curvilinear. Revisiting the relationship between religiosity and delinquency”. It is the first publication resulting from the project, “The role of religiosity in delinquency among Christian and Muslim youths” (ReliDeli) funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG).
While previous research has generally assumed that religiosity tends to reduce delinquent behavior, the study challenges this relationship, which has been repeatedly demonstrated empirically in the criminological literature.
The authors hypothesize that religiosity and delinquency are initially negatively related, but that this effect reverses beyond a moderate level of religiosity. Accordingly, individuals at both ends of the religious spectrum would be expected to exhibit the highest propensity for delinquency.
The findings suggest that a higher level of religiosity among adolescents is not necessarily associated with less delinquent behavior, thus challenging the assumption of a linear relationship made in previous research.
The findings are based on data from more than 45,000 adolescents in Germany across six surveys conducted between 2013 and 2024. They hold across different forms of delinquency (violent offenses, substance use, and property offenses) and are independent of how religiosity is measured.
Overall, the study underscores the need to pay greater attention to highly religious individuals.
