COnsider the fact that most people just state that they are Christian completely ignores this statistic. Out of that 75% 5 % probably actively followed Christianity and the rest just said they were christians.

This sounds right.

/thread

This here makes a lot of sense.

76% of Americans identify as Christian.

Even if we supposed for a moment that NONE turn to Christianity after incarceration (which we know NOT to be the case), Christian's would still be UNDER-represented in prison according to this study.

Which I guess is the exact opposite of what you hoped to prove...

Well since I am involved in Prison ministry myself I must say this is probably true but at the same time very slanted. I go into prisons and talk with inmates on a regular basis and yes the majority of them are Christian. But not when they committed their crimes and got incarcerated. Most of them converted shortly after being put in prison.

I've met all kinds of criminals who have repented of their sins asked Jesus for forgiveness and claim to now be Christian. Infact I'd say alot of people regrett their crimes and such and want repentance and to be forgiven of their sins. Not that I am in prison to convert people I go because many prisoners families and friends abandon them or are criminals themselves and not allowed to visit. But I must be honest more prisoners convert to Christianity then I have ever seen outside of prison.

Also considering the majority of America still considers themselves Christian, does mean that Christian's would be the majority of those convicted (If you go by population statistics alone) then factor in all these converts and your looking at a healthy majority. Also Christian's are human just like everyone else, even devout followers of the faith slip up and commit crimes from time to time its not like were perfect. Then add in the fact that a ton of Christian's call themselves Christian based on birth alone. I've met so many who say I am Christian and I'm like okay so Jesus said this about Peter and the guy will be like "Who's Peter" I then ask something like umm don't you read your Bible. So often the answer I get is "No I was born Christian , my parents were Christian so I'm Christian".

Then theirs all the people who believe in God but don't know what religion to identify with so they call themselves Christian.

Notice the bolded statement fifty two percent of people belong to no church. I'm guessing this stat is refering to Canada or the USA. Well I can say right now more then fifty two percent of the population considers themselves Christian so how does that work out? Tons of so called Christian's don't go to church, heck tons don't read their Bibles or even have a basic grasp of Christianity.

I'll prove my point "The majority of Americans (76%) identify themselves as Christians," so no shit theirs going to be a majority in prison. Add in converts and such and its a no brainer. This isn't because Athiests behave better or have more moral standards its simple logic. "A 2008 Gallup poll showed that a smaller 6% of the US population believed that no god or universal spirit exists".

So almost 13x as many Christians as Athiests. Now look at those prison stats again, they make alot more logical sense now don't they.

Then look at what Rath on others say as well, as that contributes. Athiests are often higher educated then Christians if you look at it by population levels. Many Christian's are black , latino , asian. But alot of Athiests are rich harvard educated people. Now of course their are many highly educated Christian's as well perhaps as many as their is athiests, however their are far more by maybe 99x as many poor uneducated Christian's as their is athiests.

I think the original posters point was that a lot of people say that athiests are more likely to commit a crime due to lack of a moral compass etc etc. This study just shows that that isnt necessarily the case.

The study seems detailed enough, but its not as simple as athiest bad, christian good, or vice versa. I am an athiest and ive never committed a crime. I dont need the fear of god for me to know what is right and what is wrong. But i also dont think christians need the fear of god for this either. I think many christians are decent people simply because they are decent people and that religion helps them out in their daily lives.

I hate his crap of Athiest vs Religious. Look everyone on this planet is entitled to believe in what they want to believe. I dont have any religious faith, but i certainly wouldnt think less of someone who does. Religion helps out so many people, their faith gets them through very difficult times and thats fantastic. its just not for me. But hey, if im wrong then i will pay for it, other people shouldnt worry.

Why cant we all just get along :) "wont someone please think of the children :)

Atheists are even more underrepresented.

Agreed, but it was not the OP's intention to discredit them now was it?

I don't know if what Galaki's intention was. I think he just read an article like he always does. Thought that the community would love to post about it, so he created a thread. I don't think his intent was to say Christian's are more likely to be criminals then Athiests or such. Infact he's a very intelligent user and I doubt he wouldn't look at this article and the population stats and such before trying to make the suicidal approach of suggesting this article actually represents the truth.