Immigration, Crime, and the Role of Religion

• In Event: Immigration and Crime In Context: Mediators, Moderators, and Outcomes

Abstract

Public perception has often assumed that immigrants within the United States are crime-prone and a source of social problems for U.S. society. In contrast, research generally indicates that immigrants are no more crime-prone and are often less likely to offend than native-born Americans. Although research has explored potential explanations for these findings, the role of religiosity in immigration-crime relationships has received little attention, despite theoretical arguments suggesting that religion has helped insulate immigrant populations from crime. The proposed research will address this gap using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to understand religion’s role in delinquency and crime committed by immigrant populations. Specifically, we examine the relationship between religiosity and self-reported delinquency for both native-born and foreign-born youth, exploring variation in these relationships across multiple types of delinquency and dimensions of religiosity.

Author

• Tayte Olma, University of Cincinnati