Religious Homogamy and Marital Duration Among Those Who File for Divorce in California, 1966-1971

Abstract

The hypothesis that having a common religion is associated with more stable marriages is tested using California data on divorce for the period 1966-1971. The results confirm the hypothesis, and the authors note that "religious homogamy among Jewish couples is associated with longer [marriage] duration than any other group. Couples who report no religious affiliation appear to be at greatest risk of early filing for divorce. The religious groupings include the Jewish, the Conservative Protestant, the Liberal Protestant, the Roman Catholic and those with no religious affiliation."

Religious Dynamics and Marital Dissolution: A Latent Class Approach

“…Besides the high prevalence of interaction between partners, both spouses must agree upon childrearing practices, which become more difficult when the partners hold different beliefs (Sherkat, 2004, p. 610). Therefore, it is little surprise that value dissimilarity in the form of religious dissimilarity leads to lower levels of marital satisfaction, higher rates of divorce, and greater spousal conflict (Ellison, Bartkowski, & Anderson, 1999;Heaton & Pratt, 1990;Lehrer & Chiswick, 1993;Maneker & Rankin, 1993;Shramm et al, 2012;Vaaler et al, 2009). In the context of this study, the matching hypothesis would predict that religious similarity leads to lower rates of marital dissolution.…”