Parenting influences from the pulpit: Religious affiliation as a determinant of parental corporal punishment

This study examined religious affiliation as a source of differences in bel iefs about and reported use of corporal punishment by 132 mothers and fathe rs of 3-year-old children. Conservative Protestants reported using corporal punishment more than parents of other religious groups, but no religious d ifferences were found in patents' reported use of 8 other disciplinary tech niques. Conservative Protestants' belief in the instrumental benefits of co rporal punishment was associated with their frequency of corporal punishmen t use. More than parents of other religious affiliations, Conservative Prot estants intended to use corporal punishment for children's moral, social, p rudential, and escalated misbehaviors and expected it to prevent future tra nsgressions. Religious affiliation, particularly a Conservative Protestant one, appears to have a strong and consistent effect on child rearing.