Relationship between religious characteristics and responses to vigilantism

• Are religious beliefs, motivations related to responses to vigilantism?
• Subjects read 3 scenarios describing vigilantism in response to 3 crimes.
• Punitiveness is related to low fundamentalism, extrinsic religiosity, evangelism.
• Punitiveness is related to high devotionalism, intrinsic religiosity.
• Motivations are more frequent predictors of responses than beliefs.

Religious characteristics are often related to attitudes about legal issues (e.g., death penalty). This study investigated whether U.S. university students’ religious beliefs (i.e., fundamentalism, devotionalism, evangelism) and religious motivations (i.e., intrinsic, extrinsic religiosity) were associated with responses to vigilantism (i.e., whether the vigilante is justified, should be legally responsible, should receive a lighter sentence). Participants read three scenarios describing vigilantism in response to different crimes (murder, drug dealing, child molestation). More punitive responses to vigilantism were associated with being low in fundamentalism, extrinsic religiosity, and evangelism, and with being high in devotionalism and intrinsic religiosity. Motivations were more frequent predictors of responses to vigilantism than beliefs. Results are the first step in explaining relationships between religious characteristics and responses to vigilantism.