View full sizeUOAZIM F. SHARIFFBelief in hell, as opposed to heaven, may curb criminal behavior, according to a study published this week by a psychologist from the University of Oregon. Religion generally frowns on unethical behavior, but specific beliefs may be the determining factor when it comes to criminal acts.

Azim F. Shariff, a UO psychology professor and director of the Culture and Morality Lab, and co-author Mijke Rhemtulla of the University of Kansas studied 26 years of data involving 143,197 people in 67 countries. The study was published in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS ONE.

"The key finding is that, controlling for each other, a nation's rate of belief in hell predicts lower crime rates, but the nation's rate of belief in heaven predicts higher crime rates, and these are strong effects," Shariff said.

"I think it's an important clue about the differential effects of supernatural punishment and supernatural benevolence," he said. "The finding is consistent with controlled research we've done in the lab, but here shows a powerful 'real world' effect on something that really affects people – crime."

A 2003 Harvard study found that gross domestic product was higher in developed countries when people believed in hell more than they did in heaven, Shariff said.

"At this stage, we can only speculate about mechanisms, but it's possible that people who don't believe in the possibility of punishment in the afterlife feel like they can get away with unethical behavior. There is less of a divine deterrent."

So what do you think? Is belief in or fear of hell more potent than belief in or the promise of heaven? 

-– Nancy Haught