Download or read book Religion, Deviance, and Social Control written by Rodney Stark and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-01-11 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Does religion have the power to regulate human behavior? If so, under what conditions can it prevent crime, delinquency, suicide, alcoholism, drug abuse, or joining cults? Despite the fact that ordinary citizens assume religion deters deviant behavior, there has been little systematic scientific research on these crucial questions. This book is the first comprehensive analysis, drawing on a wide range of historical and contemporary data, and written in a style that will appeal to readers from many intellectual backgrounds.