Re-examining the relationship between religion and punitiveness: Evidence from Germany

Abstract

Research has shown that punitive attitudes are influenced by denominational affiliation, religious participation and images of God. However, most of the research so far has been conducted in the United States, which is very different compared with most European states with respect to the importance of religion. The paper analyses the relationship between religion and punitiveness outside the United States in a European context based on a German-wide representative survey ( N = 2265). Respondents who perceive God as loving are less punitive and support the death penalty less. The same holds for the frequency of praying and church attendance. Protestants and Catholics are also less supportive of the death penalty compared with non-affiliated individuals.

The Predictive Model of Citizens’ Attitudes About the Risks of Introducing the Death Penalty in the Legal System: A Case Study of Serbia

“…On that occasion, controlling through other known predictors of attitudes about the death penalty and through religious factors, they identified a lower probability of supporting the death penalty among Americans with a personal relationship with a kind God . Similar results were found in a large representative survey of German respondents (Hanslmaier & Baier, 2016). Namely, less support for the death penalty and less "punishment" was found among respondents who have an image of God as a God who loves (Hanslmaier & Baier, 2016).…”

“…Similar results were found in a large representative survey of German respondents (Hanslmaier & Baier, 2016). Namely, less support for the death penalty and less "punishment" was found among respondents who have an image of God as a God who loves (Hanslmaier & Baier, 2016). Also, Baker and Whitehead (2020) emphasized the importance of believing in a male God in terms of supporting stricter social policies aimed at criminals.…”

“…Despite inconsistent findings (Baker & Booth, 2016;Grasmick, Bursik Jr, & Blackwell, 1993;Grasmick, Cochran, Bursik Jr, & Kimpel, 1993;Hanslmaier & Baier, 2016;) over the past decade, Christian fundamentalism is often associated with support for the death penalty (Rade, Holland, Gregory, & Desmarais, 2017), primarily because of their inherent conservative religious beliefs that justify the use of the death penalty . Lytle and ten Bensel (2016) conducted a study to determine the relevance of Christian fundamentalism in terms of attitudes towards the death penalty compared to those of a non-religious nature and, on that occasion, found that Christian fundamentalism, which identified itself, although not biblically literal or religious name, remained a significant predictor of attitudes toward the death penalty when attitudes toward equality of LGBT marriages were included in the model.…”

God’s penology: Belief in a masculine God predicts support for harsh criminal punishment and militarism

“…Examining beliefs about God, researchers have reported a significant positive relationship between holding a punitive image of God and expressing punitiveness toward criminals (Applegate et al., 2000; Evans and Adams, 2003; Young and Thompson, 1995). In contrast, a loving image of God may reduce punitiveness (Hanslmaier and Baier, 2016).…”

Influence of religiosity and studying law on college students’ punitive attitudes in China

“…Previous studies have discussed the factors that determine punitive public attitudes and whether and how different dimensions of religion affect those attitudes. In the United States, this particular area of inquiry has drawn research scrutiny, but only scant attention has been paid to it in other countries (Hanslmaier and Baier, 2016; Kutateladze and Crossman, 2009). To bridge this burgeoning gap, this study examines how, in China, religiosity plays a role in shaping college students’ attitudes towards punishment.…”