Organized Religion

This entry should appeal to anyone who thought the prior submissions were mostly hippy dippy. However, it is corroborated by a 2013 study from Pennsylvania State University that looked at 182 counties in New York, California, and Texas. The study discovered that lower crime rates were associated with higher percentages of people who identified with organized religion among poor white, Black, and Latino communities.

This has been proven over the years several times. The Houston Chronicle reported in 2011 that 247 investigations out of 273 randomly selected studies conducted between 1944 and 2010 revealed a similar outcome. Only two of the same sample's researchers discovered a correlation between organized religion and crime.

The research has only shown an advantage for communities with organized religion that strengthens a feeling of community, it must be underlined. According to the PSU study, the crime rate was actually noticeably higher among those who classified as spiritual but not religious than it was among non-religious people. It would have to be very orthodox and collectivist in approach if a government body were to undertake a policy of promoting religion.