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Should Religious Fundamentalists be Held Culpable for Their Crimes? An Analysis of the Psychological and Societal Effects of Hyper-Religiosity

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Date Issued:
2016
Summary:
My research was used to determine if religiously-motivated criminal offenders should be held culpable and how offenders should be punished in a court of law. Some who commit religiously motivated crimes do not do so of their own volition (e.g., those born into a cult), some are not legally competent to stand trial, and some qualify to claim insanity by both legal and psychological standards. Psychological and social pressures exerted by cults (e.g., deindividuation) can interfere with moral and legal reasoning of the offender. I argue that only those individuals with awareness of the legality of their actions and ability to freely choose their actions should be held culpable for religiously-motivated crimes.
Title: Should Religious Fundamentalists be Held Culpable for Their Crimes? An Analysis of the Psychological and Societal Effects of Hyper-Religiosity.
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Name(s): Natale, Giuliana
Tunick, Mark
Vernon, Laura
Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Thesis
Date Created: Spring 2016
Date Issued: 2016
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: pdf
Extent: 66 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: My research was used to determine if religiously-motivated criminal offenders should be held culpable and how offenders should be punished in a court of law. Some who commit religiously motivated crimes do not do so of their own volition (e.g., those born into a cult), some are not legally competent to stand trial, and some qualify to claim insanity by both legal and psychological standards. Psychological and social pressures exerted by cults (e.g., deindividuation) can interfere with moral and legal reasoning of the offender. I argue that only those individuals with awareness of the legality of their actions and ability to freely choose their actions should be held culpable for religiously-motivated crimes.
Identifier: FA00003684 (IID)
Note(s): Includes bibliography.
Thesis (B.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, 2016.
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Sublocation: Digital Library
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00003684
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Host Institution: FAU

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