Objectives

The civil society perspective predicts that civic and voluntary organizations promote the welfare of communities by enhancing social capital and cohesion. Here, I examine whether black Protestant churches, because of their dual emphasis on personal piety and social justice, function as agents of civil society in the southern United States by reducing crime, and whether structural context moderates the relationship between black religious ecology and crime.

Methods

With data from the 2010 Religious Congregations and Membership Survey, I used spatial regression analyses to estimate models of arrest rates in 799 southern counties. I examined indices representing both property and violent crime provided in the FBI Uniform Crime Reports.

Results

In main effects models, black Protestant density related inversely to county-level property crime arrest rates, but it was unrelated to violent crime arrest rates. Interactive models revealed that black Protestant affiliation was particularly protective of property crime in counties with the highest levels of resource disadvantage. While black Protestant affiliation was protective of both property and violent crime in low-income counties, it had a positive association with arrest rates in high-income counties.

Conclusions

Net of total religious adherence, the Black Church has a uniquely protective effect against crime in the most disadvantaged southern communities. Findings were largely consistent with ecological theories related to social capital, social organization, and collective efficacy. They also highlight limits to the moral communities thesis. Results suggest that more scholarship should examine racialized law enforcement practices in high-income counties.

中文翻译：

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公民社会中的宗教：黑人宗教生态对南方犯罪的影响

目标

民间社会的观点预测，公民和志愿组织通过增强社会资本和凝聚力来促进社区的福利。在这里，我研究黑人新教教会是否由于其双重强调个人虔诚和社会正义而通过减少犯罪来充当美国南部民间社会的代理，以及结构性环境是否缓和了黑人宗教生态与犯罪之间的关系。

方法

根据2010年宗教会众和会员调查的数据，我使用了空间回归分析来估计799个南部县的逮捕率模型。我检查了FBI统一犯罪报告中提供的代表财产犯罪和暴力犯罪的指数。

结果

在主要效应模型中，黑人新教徒的密度与县级财产犯罪的逮捕率成反比，但与暴力犯罪的逮捕率无关。互动模型显示，黑人新教徒的隶属关系在资源劣势程度最高的县尤其能保护财产犯罪。虽然黑人新教徒隶属关系既保护了低收入县的财产和暴力犯罪，又与高收入县的逮捕率有正相关。

结论

在完全信仰宗教的基础上，黑教堂在南部最弱势的社区中对犯罪起到了独特的保护作用。研究结果在很大程度上与有关社会资本，社会组织和集体效能的生态理论相一致。他们还强调了道德社区理论的局限性。结果表明，应有更多的奖学金来研究高收入县的种族化执法实践。