RELIGION, ROUTINES, AND DELINQUENCY : HOW DOES RELIGIOSITY AFFECT DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR?

RELIGION, ROUTINES, AND DELINQUENCY : HOW DOES RELIGIOSITY AFFECT DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR?

  Critics have argued that it is important to uncover the mechanisms mediating the relationship between religion and delinquency. Past research has identified belief and delinquent association as significant mediators of this relationship. This study tests the mediating effect of another set of factors that has not received much attention in the empirical literature: routine activities. Drawing on evidence from routine activities research, it is hypothesized that religiosity increases the amount of time juveniles spend in structured daily activities and that time spent in these activities reduces delinquency. Using data from a longitudinal survey of a nationally representative sample of youths, we constructed a structural equation model to test the mediating effects of athletic team activities, school activities, and community activities, while controlling for belief, delinquent associations, and background variables. Among the three types of routine activities included in the analysis, structured community activities operated as important mechanisms that mediated the effect of religiosity on delinquency.