Religious Correlates of Religious Victimization in Youth: Findings from Two Nationally Representative Surveys

Abstract

Religious victimization is a social stressor harmful to identity and well-being. In this article, we examine how religious victimization is associated with key religious factors in youth using two different data sets collected 17 years apart. The results from both surveys show that youth affiliated with non-Christian religious traditions, youth who more frequently attend services, and youth who talk more frequently with their parents about religion have a relatively high likelihood of religious victimization. Moreover, Catholic and mainline Protestant youth have relatively low likelihoods of religious victimization, but these findings did not hold across both sources of data. We suggest these patterns reflect cultural views regarding secularization as well as the cultural normativity of Christianity and associated behaviors in the United States. We conclude by encouraging school-based, antibullying programs to include religion and religiosity in efforts to reduce and prevent youth bullying.