A new study from Psychological Bulletin indicates that church attendance does promote self control. (Hat tip: New York Times)
The traditional explanation might be that fear of divine retribution scares youngsters into behaving. But the scientists who did this study suspect a more positive effect: religious ritual stimulates our self-control muscles. Michael McCullough explains:

“Brain-scan studies have shown that when people pray or meditate, there’s a lot of activity in two parts of brain that are important for self-regulation and control of attention and emotion. The rituals that religions have been encouraging for thousands of years seem to be a kind of anaerobic workout for self-control.”