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Religion and the Acceptability of White‐Collar Crime: A Cross‐National Analysis
Author(s) -
Corcoran Katie E.,
Pettinicchio David,
Robbins Blaine
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal for the scientific study of religion
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.941
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1468-5906
pISSN - 0021-8294
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-5906.2012.01669.x
Subject(s) - modernization theory , social psychology , white (mutation) , affect (linguistics) , religious belief , psychology , sociology , multilevel model , belief in god , test (biology) , political science , law , epistemology , philosophy , paleontology , biochemistry , chemistry , communication , machine learning , biology , computer science , gene
This article examines whether shared religious beliefs and religious social relationships (Durkheim) and belief in a personal, moral God (Stark) negatively affect attitudes toward the acceptability of white‐collar crime. In addition, using a large cross‐national sample and estimating multilevel models, we test whether effects are conditional on modernization and religious contexts characterized by belief in an impersonal or amoral God. Shared religious beliefs and the importance of God in one's life are negatively related to the acceptability of white‐collar crime. These effects, however, weaken in religious contexts characterized by belief in an impersonal or amoral God as do the effects of religious social relationships and belonging to a religious organization; modernization, on the other hand, does not have a moderating effect. In short, religious belief is associated with lower acceptance of white‐collar crime and certain types of religious contexts condition this relationship.