Moral differences between Protestants and atheists, and the effects of religion on the morality of Protestants

Abstract

Social control theory argues that religious people would stick to the ethical codes of religion. The theory further asserts that religion would have tremendous effects on individuals' moral attitudes and behavior. This study tests social control theory. Data were collected from a sample of 911 people who were 18 or older at the time of study. The analysis reveals that Protestants have stronger moral values, are less corrupted, volunteer more for community service, and have better concerns for others than atheists. These differences, although significant statistically, are not so great. Religious activities such as church attendance, family worship, and participation in church activities have small effects on the Protestants' attitudes toward violence, and reasonable effects on voluntary service. Various religiosity indices have reasonable and consistent effects on the Protestants' attitudes toward marital fidelity and violence and on some of the moral behaviors in a positive way. The effects of religion on the Protestants' morality are, however, not as great as social control theory predicts.