Common wisdom is that religion leads to radicalization and young adults turning to violence against society.
Common wisdom is completely incorrect according to a study of CEGEP students across Quebec.
Dr. Cecile Rousseau began studying the radicalization of youth after half a dozen College de Maisonneuve students left Canada last year to join ISIS.
Her study of 1,894 students found that those with the strongest religious ties were actually less likely to join a violent radicalization movement than those who were not religious.
"Having a religion and being religious is a strong protection factor which notably has a direct effect on the support through radicalization effect but also decreases the impact of adverse life events," said Dr. Rousseau.
Furthermore, students born in Quebec who do not follow any religion and are second-generation immigrants are more likely to become violent radicals than people who claim a religion and are first-generation immigrants, it concluded.
What actually convinces a young person to become radicalized is being the victim of violence or discrimination, or suffering from depression.
The study also shows that men and young people under age 25 are most likely to become radicalized.
"The risk factors are mainly adverse life events and first, discrimination is very important so first discrimination and experiences of violence," said Dr. Rousseau.
This is not the first study to conclude that religion was not a factor in becoming radicalized.
In August, the Centre for the Prevention of Radicalization Leading to Violence (CPDLV) published a report showing that youth who became radicalized did not necessarily have strong religious feelings, but had felt they were victims of the polarizing discourse surrounding Islam.
Schools, as a place where youth socialize, just happen to be a place where peer groups influence each other -- for better or worse.
Monique Magnan of Vanier College found the results surprising.
"We have a lot of religious clubs. We have a Muslim club, we have a Jewish Hillel club, we have a Christian club, so religion is really important in our college and we can see in the study it's a protecting factor," said Magnan.
The study was conducted by the Sherpa Research Centre of the Montreal West Island Integrated University Health and Social Services Centre in partnership with the Quebec Federation of CEGEPs.
The key recommendation of the study is better services for students in distress, but CEGEPs say budget cuts make it difficult to provide the support recommended by the study group.
"We would like to be able to offer more, of course, because we have a lot of students and a limited number of people that can support them. You can see the importance of these service in preventing things like radicalization, but other issues as well," said Magnan.
Bernard Tremblay of the Quebec Federation of CEGEPs agreed.
"It's clear that CEGEPs are doing their utmost with the resources they have," said Tremblay.
