Expanding the Scope of Hate Crime Research: Utilizing the NCVS and FBI Hate Crime Statistics to Examine Hate Crime Motivated by Perceived Religion

• In Event: Ecological Variation in Hate Crime Offending, Formal Responses, and Group Threat Processes

Abstract

Historically, hate crime literature has predominately focused on racially-biased incidents, with research on religious hate crime remains sparse. This narrow focus has led to insufficient consideration of the possible nuance, ultimately inhibiting our understanding of intergroup conflict. Additionally, the existing research on religious-based hate crime often relies on official statistics, hindering our ability to draw robust theoretical conclusions. Thus, the present study investigates hate crime victimization based on perceived religion by both applying pertinent group-based theories and assessing the convergence between official hate crime offenses motivated by religion and NCVS data. Our findings lead to two conclusions. First, hate crimes victimizations are more likely to occur in areas with a larger percentage of the Arab population. Second, these victimizations are likely to converge with official FBI religious hate crimes in places with a higher share of Arab population. We interpret the former as support for Blalock’s group threat theory, while the latter suggests that societal pressures may motivate a more effective institutional response in areas with a higher proportion of the population perceived as a threat. The findings and theoretical arguments set forth in the current piece offer an opportunity for further expansion of the purview of hate crime literature.

Authors

• Ashton Hoover, Florida State University

• Sylwia Janina Piatkowska, Florida State University

• Brendan Lantz, Florida State University