Religion, Race, and Relationships

University of Virginia sociologist Brad Wilcox has authored a new report, Religion, Race, and Relationships in Urban America.  In addition to finding a strong correlation between church attendance and marriage among urban parents, Wilcox finds:

Statistical analyses of partner supportiveness—such as affection, understanding, and encouragement—indicate that fathers’ religious attendance is linked to higher reports of supportiveness by both partners at three years after the birth of the child. Specifically, both mothers and fathers are significantly more likely to rate their partner as supportive if the father attends church several times a month or more. These results hold for both married and unmarried parents and do not vary by race.

A measure of overall relationship quality—which ranged from poor to excellent and, again, was measured at three years after the birth of the child—is also related to fathers’ religious attendance. Once again, both mothers and fathers are significantly more likely to report that they have an excellent relationship with one another if the father, but not necessarily the mother, attends church frequently. The association between paternal churchgoing and relationship quality holds for married and unmarried couples, and it does not vary by race.