Oh my darling
Give me reason
Give me something
To believe in. ⁵

"Do you believe in God?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Before she could answer why, Cassie Bernall was shot in the head by one of the Columbine killers who noticed her praying and reading her Bible. He questioned her just before pulling the trigger. ⁶

One of the shared characteristics of violent juvenile offenders, according to Garbarino, is what he refers to as a "crisis of meaninglessness." Because of this spiritual vacuum, kids live with the simple creed, "I am born; I live; I die." At best, the only value that many young boys receive from the culture at large is materialism or the pursuit of physical pleasure. The understood purpose for existence is the accumulation of "things." This, says Garbarino, is not enough to anchor young people. This lack of meaning leads to despair and plays an important role in the lives of violent juveniles. Without a sense that their lives have some higher purpose, which is predominantly grounded in religious faith, these young people see no point in restraining offensive or violent behavior. ⁷

Psychologist Andrew Weaver at the University of Hawaii has reviewed the evidence linking religious and spiritual experience to adolescent behavior and development, and has found that this experience does help to buffer children from the cultural and social poisons of modern life.⁸ Weaver reviewed research in major research journals dealing with adolescent issues and found many studies documenting the fact that spirituality exerts an anchoring affect on kids. Religious belief among kids results in reduced suicide, less depression, better response to trauma and less substance abuse, characteristics often found among violent juvenile offenders.

Religious faith can give young people a sense of hope and a higher purpose in life beyond materialism. According to Garbarino, " … with neither hope nor a sense of purpose, troubled boys are psychologically adrift and are prone to seek any harbor in their storm of alienation and fear. These are the boys who are drawn to nihilism, Satanism, and all the other 'isms' of the dark side."⁹ This "dark side" reportedly was very much a part of the lives of the Columbine killers, as well as other violent juveniles who have made headlines in the past couple of years.¹⁰ It has included everything from immersion in violent movies and video games to actually practicing animal sacrifice.

This brings us to a key issue in the discussion of juvenile violence. Any discussion about the "roots" of violence must address the question of whether violent behavior is caused by outside forces, such as social or peer pressure, or by forces "within" a person - what is often referred to as "human nature." Does "evil" or, in the case of this paper's topic, violent behavior, come from something outside of a person or does it emanate from within a person?

There are primarily two schools of thought on human nature that we will consider. One argues that "evil" does not emanate from within, but primarily from outside a person. This understanding has several implications:

• A person's behavior is largely determined by his social environment; i.e., the influence of the media, weapon availability, human relations, poverty, etc.
• To eliminate bad or evil behavior, one must focus on changing the social forces rather than on an individual's actions.
• If a person is not exposed to negative social forces, he will not be prone to evil behavior. He "naturally" has "good" desires and therefore "good" behavior.
• Individuals share the responsibility for their actions with the social forces around them.

Because of the tremendous influence that the Judeo-Christian ethic has had on it, Western civilization has generally accepted a different view: that there are evil actions and evil people, and that evil ultimately emanates from human nature. There are a number of implications of this understanding of human nature as well:

• Individuals are responsible for their actions, and a person's behavior is, for the most part, acted out volitionally.
• One can choose negative behavior without being influenced by negative outside forces at all. One can also choose "good" behavior even when exposed to evil social forces.
• Outside forces certainly have an influence on a person's behavior, but in the end, it is the individual who chooses whether to act upon an evil desire.
• One must be taught what is good behavior and what is not, and he must restrain evil behavior.

This latter view seems to be most consistent with experience. Clearly, there are many people, young and old, who are exposed to "negative" social influences yet have "good" behavior, primarily as a result of a value system they have been taught. Simple observation of very young children shows that even before they are exposed to negative social forces, they can be selfish, challenge authority, be hurtful and sometimes even be harmful to those around them. It is up to adults to teach children good behavior. As any parent will testify, bad behavior seems to come as naturally as the good in a young child. It goes without saying that outside forces play an important role in influencing one's behavior, as this paper will argue below. But a person's value system, or "inward" beliefs, primarily determines his or her behavior.

This helps explain why religion is such a powerful force in regulating behavior. Religion's focus on an individual's choosing a new or different moral value system, validates the view that "inward" change results in outward change, in spite of a negative social environment. Garbarino says that even in the worst social environments, many of the violent juveniles whom he has interviewed have undergone dramatic inward, moral transformations; changes that have trumped both family instability and a socially toxic environment:

The testimony of Cassie Bernall stands as an appropriate illustration of the power of religious faith to help anchor the life of a young person. According to her friends and parents, Cassie was well on her way to the "dark side" as recently as two years ago. She was troubled and withdrawn, dabbling in witchcraft and isolated from the world around her. Her path, however, was changed by her conversion to Christianity. Religious faith played the primary role in removing her from a life that could have very well turned destructive. ¹² In stark contrast, her killers were deeply immersed in the dark elements of Nazism, embraced the nihilism of Nietzsche, and consumed a steady diet of "death-themed" music, film and video games. ¹³

Without some sort of spiritual anchor, Garbarino says young people are adrift in a toxic society that provides few answers to the questions of the meaning of life. Popular culture has offered little help as these kids grope with transcendent themes. Rather than emphasizing the importance of religious faith, our society has increasingly become hostile to religion and religious beliefs. Academia has denounced it; Hollywood has mocked it; legislative activism has virtually banned it from the public square; and public schools have become "no religion" zones. It is ironic that the very prescription that shows the most promise in preventing and treating juvenile violence is considered irrelevant if not harmful.

While Garbarino says that spiritual literacy is an essential component in addressing juvenile violence, religious and moral themes have been summarily drummed out of most public school curriculum. Private expression of faith has come under fire as well. Some students have been banned from reading their bibles in school, ¹⁴ and some student religious groups have been blocked from meeting on school grounds. ¹⁵ Public schools have even been wary of affirming universal values such as respect, responsibility, caring and honesty for fear that they may be accused of promoting religion.

In fact, there are very few places that a young person can turn to solve their "crisis of meaninglessness." The schools are void of transcendent themes, and as we will see below, popular culture offers even less. But there is a hunger among youth to fill this vacuum. This was made evident in the aftermath of the Columbine shootings. As students sought comfort in their time of crisis, they flocked to religious leaders and religious institutions. ¹⁶ They wanted more than grief counseling. They wanted hope. They were able to find that in the context of a larger, transcendent story that religion provides.

A world without meaning, a world composed only of fact and figures, is a world of despair to which some young people will react destructively - and as we have witnessed, sometimes violently. Until we recognize the essential role that spirituality plays in providing hope and purpose for young people, we may well see more juveniles acting out in ways that shock our senses, but confirm their outlook on life.

Juvenile Violence

Part 1: Introduction

Part 2: Spiritual Emptiness

Part 3: Family Instability

Part 4: Toxic Society

Endnotes

⁵Lyrics from the song "Dis-O-Bedience," by the German rock group KMFDM, favorite band of Columbine killers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold.

⁶Matt Labash, "Do You Believe in God? Yes," The Weekly Standard, (4) 32, p. 23.

⁷Garbarino, pp. 154-155.

⁸Andrew Weaver, "An Analysis of Research on Religious and Spiritual Variables in Three Major Mental Health Nursing Journals," 1991-1995. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 19(3), pp. 263-276. See also L.S. Wright, "Church Attendance, Meaningfulness of Religion, and Depressive Symptomatology among Adolescents, Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 22(5), pp. 559-568.

⁹Garbarino, p. 157.

¹⁰Ann Imse, "Killers' Double Life Fooled Many," Denver Rocky Mountain News, April 25, 1999, p. 24A.

¹¹Garbarino, p. 161.

¹²Matt Labash, "Do You Believe in God? Yes," The Weekly Standard, (4) 32, p. 23.

¹³Erin Emery, "Video, Poems Foreshadowed Day of Disaster," Denver Post, April 22, 1999, p. 10A.

¹⁴Jeremy Leaming, "Federal Appeals Court to Reconsider Decision in Bible-Reading Case, Free! The Freedom Forum Online (www.freedomforum.org), April 8, 1999.

¹⁵Jeremy Leaming, "Federal Judge Supports Policy that Differentiates Between Student Clubs, Free! The Freedom Forum Online (www.freedomforum.org), April 8, 1999.

¹⁶Valerie Richardson, "Mourners Turn to Their Churches, Washington Times, May 4, 1999, Part A, p. A1.

Copyright © 1999 Focus on the Family.
All rights reserved. International copyright secured.