i don't have access to that person's thoughts, but the statement looks clear to me. there's always more context, you could grind it down to the sub-atomic if you want.

studies where children and young people brought up in communities with a sense of self-identity have better outcomes. Religion could be a stand-in for community involvement.

this is the position you were angling for, so you could have said that. I don't disagree with the first part exactly, but religion is not what I would choose as a stand-in. It's more like a substitute for science and arts education, including basic philosophy.