Pastor admits to "sexual incident" with teen 20 years ago, gets standing ovation

From personal experience, (I live in the Bible Belt of the Southern, United States) I've witnessed peer pressure, as the other rRedditor said, being a contribution but I still believe some 'need to belong' is what drives these behaviors and it would also explain why communities (religious in this case) are likely to protect their peers, not excluding delinquents. In fact, studies have shown that religious people tend to be happier due to this sense of belonging. There was an article by TIME Magazine and PEW Research but this is a good article as well and a little more condensed by LiveScience.

http://www.livescience.com/9090-religion-people-happier-hint-god.html

One excerpt states, "At the same time, they share a certain social identity, a sense of belonging to a moral faith community. The sense of belonging seems to be the key to the relationship between church attendance and life satisfaction." -Chaeyoon Lim, a sociologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

/r/nottheonion Thread Parent Link - cbsnews.com