Abundant research has shown that Christian religiosity inhibits adolescent substance use, especially in communities where most of the population shares the same religious values and beliefs. Due to the lack of empirical research, it is unclear if Christian religiosity has the same inhibitory influence in predominantly secular and religiously diverse societies. This study aims to bridge this gap and thereby improve our understanding of the relationship between Christian religiosity and delinquent behavior in different cultural contexts. Through the analysis of survey data collected from a large probability sample of adolescents in China’s special administrative region of Macau, this study found a strong inverse relationship between Christian religiosity and adolescent substance use, despite the predominantly secular nature of Macau society. In contrast, religious commitment among non-Christian youths showed no relationship with substance use. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Considerable research has shown that religion operates as a protective factor for one’s health. However, there is still a lack of understanding of the mechanisms by which religion is linked to individual health and wellbeing, especially in predominantly secular societies. This study tried to address this gap by developing a theoretical model to examine how religiosity is related to life satisfaction and health perception in a non-Western culture. Macau, a Portuguese colony until 1999, remains a diversified culture because of its intermixed historical background from the East and the West. Through structural equation modeling, the analysis of data collected from a representative sample of Macau residents, using a multistage stratified sampling procedure, indicated a positive link between religiosity and health. Moreover, altruism and prejudice mediated a portion of the relationship between religiosity and health. Additionally, our results demonstrated that Macau residents who were more religious had a higher level of altruism and a lower level of prejudice. The link between religion and prejudice in Macau differs from that of many other cultures, indicating that the effect of religion on prejudice varies by cultural context. In sum, our study showed that even in the shadow of glittering casinos, religion is positively related to health.

Mainland China, Macau, and Taiwan are the three key geopolitical entities in the Greater China area. Despite their shared roots in Chinese culture and tradition, each of these societies possesses a unique set of legal-political systems and social norms, which may shape the risk and protective factors for juvenile delinquency. This study aims to identify the between-city similarities and differences in the risk and protective factors related to juvenile delinquency. Using survey data collected from representative samples of secondary school students, the results confirmed that social bonds and life satisfaction operate as protective factors consistently linked to lower delinquent involvement, while parental physical abuse, bullying victimization, delinquent peer association, drinking, and smoking place youth at greater risk for juvenile delinquency in all three societies. The regional differences are manifested in the influences of two risk factors – delinquent attitude and going out at night – as well as the strength of the relationships between some of the factors and delinquency. These findings have important implications for juvenile delinquency prevention in the Greater China area overall and the research settings specifically. <!----> <!----> <!----> <!---->