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Adam Edwards
Student Number: 0402605
SOCI 3700A- WE 14:00-14:50
April 6th, 2011.
Families and Households Research Paper
Divorce and Religion
Rational:
The topic I plan to explore in this research paper is divorce and its relation to religion.
More specifically, I will address how social involvement in organized religion impacts the
decision of the dyad of a couple to get a divorce, or not get a divorce in the result of marital
dissatisfaction. This topic relates to family primarily on the dyad level of husband and wife, with
comparisons of the dyads relation to the social group of the church congregation. However, the
research also shows that this dyad can be impacted by their parents, in terms of their satisfaction
or dissatisfaction in the relationship and their religious affiliation.
The framework that suits this area of research is the functionalist framework. Theorists
such as Spencer and Durkheim have analyzed how organic functionalism can be used to explain
social institutions, such as organized religion and marriage, and an individual’s behaviour, such
as whether one should get a divorce based on martial dissatisfaction alone (Klein & White, 2008
p 36). An issue such as marital satisfactions relation to religion can relate to Durkheim’s ideal
that organized religious gatherings provide the functional social integration that is needed to give
marriage its moral and social meanings (Klein & White, 2008 p 36). Thus giving the dyad of a
married couple the motivation they need to stay together (Klein & White, 2008 p 36).

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The main question I hope to answer from the research that will be discussed in this paper
is what is the relation between religion and levels of marital satisfaction? Are there strong
correlations between strong marital satisfaction and a connection to an organized religious
group? The research tackles this question with some different perspectives on arriving to a
possible answer to this question, but why does this issue require attention?
This issue requires attention for a few reasons, one of which is that our views on both
religion and marriage are changing from what they were decades ago. This rapid change on both
religious and marital views is likely due to the popularization of individualism, and therefore a
decreasing view of the social solidarity that Durkheim viewed as essential to the cohesion of
society and social institutions (Klein & White, 2008 p 36). Examining this question helps to see
if Durkheim’s theory of social solidarity holds true to the present day, or whether other factors
are possibly involved in causing the strengthening or weakening of marital satisfaction (Klein &
White, 2008 p 36). Conversely, if current research shows Durkheim’s view that social solidarity
is essential to the stability of social institutions such as marriage, then one could question if
religion is the best in aiding the satisfaction or marriage or if there are many other factors
involved in maintaining a satisfactory marriage (Klein & White, 2008 p 36). This topic could
also be viewed deeper through the effects that different types of religion have on marriages, but
for the sake of this paper, religion will be focused on as a unified concept in which religion is
organized to rituals or gatherings that involve social interactions and relationships with the other
members.
Context and the Research:
There are differing contexts and backgrounds involved in the researched used for this
paper. I will first look at Religion and Attitudes Towards Divorce Laws Among U.S. Adults,

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written by Charles E. Stokes and Christopher G. Ellison, which addresses the difference in
religious attitudes towards divorce laws, from data polled from 2000-2006 (Ellison & Stokes,
2010: 1279). The results from the NRC General Social Surveys show that frequent religious
attendance at church and strong religious belief are both strong predictors of support for stricter
divorce laws (Ellison & Stokes, 2010: 1279).
The article states that several social scientists have found ties between religion and
marriage pointing out that both have complimentary goals and benefits to the husband/ wife dyad
(Ellison & Stokes, 2010: 1280). On reason for this is that many religious congregations have a
desire to develop members from future generations through the family, therefore meaning
organized religion is somewhat dependant on the creation and maintaining of a family (Ellison &
Stokes, 2010: 1280). To illustrate this point further, the article points out that some conservative
Protestants have shifted their focus of “saving souls” to a new focus of “saving marriages,” thus
showing the important that religion holds to marriage and by relation, the family (Ellison &
Stokes, 2010: 1280).
This article also shows how some pro-marriage religious groups will push for stricter
divorce laws as a way to save marriage and prevent divorces (Ellison & Stokes, 2010: 1280). The
article points out that although religious groups play a vital part in strengthening the strictness of
divorce laws, there is no research to date on if religiosity is in relation to public opinion toward
divorce laws, an area which could use further research (Ellison & Stokes, 2010: 1280).
Understanding the role of religion towards divorce attitudes could be relevant for social scientist
and policy makers in finding the relation between marriage and religion (Ellison & Stokes, 2010:
1280).

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The article Religion in Families, 1999-2009: A Relational Spirituality Framework,
written by Annette Mahoney analyzes the role religion has in marital and parental-child
relationships from a peer-reviewed longitudinal study from 1999-2009 (Mahoney, 2010: 805).
The article looks at the distinction between religious belief and spirituality, and how these two
distinctions of religiosity play a part in relation to family solidarity and marital satisfaction
(Mahoney, 2010: 806). According to Mahoney, research has shown that although Americans
who attend services more often are less likely to get divorced, the correlation between the two is
strongly correlated (Mahoney, 2010: 806).
Mahoney points out that better understanding and conceptions of spiritual beliefs and
religious practices that are centered on marriage could help social scientists to understand the
specific aspects of religion that help couples stay together (Mahoney, 2010: 807). Mahoney
states that attendance implies that individuals have a connection with God or a religious
community, which leads to rituals for marriage to prevent divorce (Mahoney, 2010: 807).
However, there are aspects of religion that are non-spiritual or not fostered by religious
institutions that lower the future prospect of divorce (Mahoney, 2010: 807). Therefore,
Mahoneys research points out that religion alone may not be what helps prevent divorce, but
rather a set of qualities that religious institutions foster that are both tied directly to religion, or
indirectly tied to religion (Mahoney, 2010: 807).
Another article related to the topic is: Does Religion Make a Difference? Assessing the
Effects of Christian Affiliation and Practice on Marital Solidarity and Divorce in Britain, 1985-
2005, written by Andrew Village, Emyr Williams and Leslie J. Francis. This study looks at the
ratios of marital breakdown compared to the levels of church attendance, and found that
Christians who regularly attended church were 1.5 times less likely to have a divorce (Francis, et

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al, 2010: 327). However, the study found that there was no difference between those who do not
attend church and those who have no religious affiliations; also those who attended church less
frequently were found to be 1.3 times less likely to have a divorce, thus proving some level of
church attendance does have an impact (Francis, et al, 2010: 327). This shows that the level of
connectedness with the church community may help couples stray from divorce, but Francis et
al. would be imply from this research that those who do not attend church and have no religious
affiliation are both missing the religious community that helps prevent divorce, but that does not
constitute it raises marital satisfaction.
The article, In Concert and Alone: Divorce and Congregational Experience, written by
Kathleen E. Jenkins, looks at 41 individuals who were all members of a congregation and faced
divorce (Jenkins, 2010: 278). This article looks at a different perspective that the other studies
did not consider or focus on, and that is the negative aspect that religion can have on marital
satisfaction (Jenkins, 2010: 278). The study finds that there was a strong correlation between
levels of connectedness to the congregation and feeling alone when one faced marital issues
(Jenkins, 2010: 278). This was because members of the congregation would feel a sense of
shame if they faced marital issues, and therefore keep it to themselves and not share it amongst
the congregation for fear of being judged as a “bad” person, or being in a “bad” family (Jenkins,
2010: 278). This is where Jenkins pointed out that there is an irony in the church congregation as
it creates a sense of social solidarity with religious matters of morality, but shuns any personal
issues, such as marital dissatisfaction, as something that attributes to one’s failure and shame
(Jenkins, 2010: 278). Therefore, Jenkins found that those who could not talk about their issues,
or felt they had to repress them, eventually dealt with them in the only way they could, which

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was divorce; meaning the congregation created a sense of entrapment and doom towards divorce,
rather than alternative from divorce (Jenkins, 2010: 278).
The article Divorce and the Divine: The Role of Spirituality in Adjustment to Divorce,
written by Elizabeth J. Krumrei, Annette Mahoney and Kenneth L. Pargament looks at three
main spiritual response that occur from religion in response to divorce (Krumrei et al., 2009:
373). These three responses that Krumrei et al. found in their research are: appraising the event
as a loss of something sacred, 74%, coping with engaging in spiritual activity, 88%, and
experiencing a struggle with spirituality or religiosity, 78% (Krumrei et al., 2009: 373).
Therefore more participants responded to divorce through engaging in either the same or an
increased amount of spiritual/ religious activity (Krumrei et al., 2009: 373). This would support
the claim that religion helps aid through difficulties in life, but not the claim that religion
prevented divorce, thus meaning the participants in this study may have met the same feelings of
shame and isolation from the congregation as was discussed in Jenkins study (Krumrei et al.,
2009: 373& Jenkins, 2010: 278).
At any rate, religion provided the participants with something to fall back on during the
post-divorce period, as it is a social institution that may be the only one or one of the few, to
return to. However, there is only a 10% difference between those who held strongly to religion
during the post-divorce period, and those who strayed away from religion, or struggled to still be
a part of the congregation, meaning there could be other factors in play, and more research
needed (Krumrei et al., 2009: 373).
The article Marital Commitment and Religiosity in a Religiously Homogenous
Population, written by Scott M. Allgood, Sharon Harrisa, Linda Skogranda & Thomas R. Lee,

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looks at marriage in relation to religious values and attendance in organized religion (Allgood et
al., 2009: 52). Like Krumrei et al., Allgood et al. looks at three types of aspects of marital status
related to religion (Allgood et al., 2009: 52). However, Allgood et al. look at three ways in which
religion strengthens the commitment of religion, thus preventing divorce based on a strong
commitment to the marriage through religion (Allgood et al., 2009: 52).
The three types of marital commitment that religion contributes towards are:
commitment to spouse (referred to also as dedication), commitment to marriage (also referred to
as moral obligation) and constraint commitment (also referred to as feeling trapped in the
marriage) (Allgood et al., 2009: 52). This study shows that religion can contribute to marriage as
a strong foundation to commitment, but it does not constitute that the dyad of husband and wife
are committed for the right reasons to keep a marriage healthy and stable (Allgood et al., 2009:
52). Allgood et al. shows how religion can result in strengthening commitment for the love of a
pattern, but also for the good of the concept of marriage itself and its connection to religious
meanings and morals; which could lead to feelings of being trapped if marital dissatisfaction
arises, and thus to a divorce rather than work on the satisfaction of the relationship between the
dyad (Allgood et al., 2009: 52).
The article Divorce, Religious Coping, and Depressive Symptoms in a Conservative
Protestant Religious Group, written by Amy Webb, Christopher Ellison, Michale McFarland,
Jerry Lee, Kelly Morton and James Walters, looks at the role religion has on successful or
problematic coping approaches to divorce (Ellison et al., 2010: 544). The article looks at religion
as a phenomenon used in coping with personal issues such as divorce and how religion can be
used to decrease the stress of any issue, including divorce (Ellison et al., 2010: 544). Ellison et
al. explain how religion takes the following steps through the congregational community:

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primary appraisal, assessing to nature of an event, secondary appraisal, evaluating the
individual’s ability to deal with the problem, and problem solving strategies (Ellison et al., 2010:
545). These are all qualities which could be gained from any group activities or settings, but the
difference may also be the focus that religion has on marriage as a sacred and valuable union
(Ellison et al., 2010: 545). The feelings of shame of the loss of such a sacred union may be
prevalent, but the ideal that religion carries of getting through stressful events in life could help
people get through the post-divorce period, and conversely, make people more willing to get a
divorce if they feel there’s something to fall back on through the post-divorce period (Ellison et
al., 2010: 545).
The article Religious Involvement: Implications for Later Health Lifestyle, written by
Kimiko Tanka, looks at the effects that religion can have on divorce and one’s health (Tanka,
2010: 1). The article further looks at the ideas from Ellison et al., that religion relieves stress and
that those involved in religion are less likely to die younger than those who are not a part of
religion, possibly due to the reduction of stress (Tanka, 2010: 1). The article brings up the notion
that religion has the ability to increase social support for members, reduce health risks and
enhance conformity (Tanka, 2010: 5). The article also suggests that the support religious
organizations offer after and during a divorce are usually more effective than those who chose to
continue to stay married with martial dissatisfaction (Tanka, 2010: 8). Thus religion may not
help people come to the decision to divorce, as there may be feelings of shame, but it could be
used as a motivator for the support that religion can offer during and after the divorce period
(Tanka, 2010: 8).
The article, The Influences of Parents’ Religious Practices on Young Adults’ Divorce
Attitudes, written by Carolyn Kapinus and Liza Pellerin looks at the intergenerational transition

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of parental religious views and divorce attitudes toward their children (Kapinus & Pellerin, 2008:
801). The article found that parental religiosity influences the views that their children have on
divorce as young adults and that more religious children are less tolerant of divorce as an option,
but children who do not share their parent’s religious views are still influenced at some level by
their parents’ divorce views (Kapinus & Pellerin, 2008: 801). Thus form Kapinus and Pellerin it
seems that a spurious variable involved in the relationship between religion and divorce could be
parental upbringing and views on divorce, in which children may feel ashamed if they want a
divorce because it was against their parents view, and not necessarily their religious views
(Kapinus & Pellerin, 2008: 801).
The article Race-ethnic Differences in Martial Quality and Divorce, written by Jennifer
Bulanda and Susan Brown looks at the differences in attitudes towards divorce based on different
ethnicities (Brown & Bulanda, 2007: 946). The study found that blacks are less likely to desire
marriage, and more likely to divorce than Caucasians, and that marital behaviour for Hispanics is
closer to Caucasians than blacks with higher value on marriage and less marital dissolution
(Brown & Bulanda, 2007: 946). The statistics in the study found that both Blacks and Hispanics
are more likely to be religiously involved than Caucasians, but that Blacks had the highest rate of
divorce, and Hispanics had the lowest rate of divorce, closely matched with Caucasians (Brown
& Bulanda, 2007: 957). This could show that religion was not a main factor of divorce, but rather
the view that a culture had on the meaning of marriage and/or religion. This study shows another
variable that could be involved in divorce is cultural backgrounds as well as religion.
With that said, it seems that there are some correlations between divorce and religion, but
there may be other spurious variable involved that should be further researched. Religion can
provide benefits to the view of the value of marriage and commitment, but it can also have the

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opposite effect of making couples feel trapped or feel shame about their marital dissatisfaction. It
seems that religion can both contribute to, and prevent divorce among couples, but the specific
reasons why for both effects may need further research.

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References
Allgood, S., Harris, S. Skogrand, L. & Lee, T. (2009). Marital Commitment and Religiosity in a
Religiously Homogenous Population. Marriage & Family Review,45: 52-67.
Brown, S., Bulanda, R. & Roebuck, J. (2007). Race-ethnic Diffrences in marital quality and
divorce, Social Science Research, 36: 945-967.
Ellison, C., Lee, J., Morton, K., McFarland, M., Walters, J & Webb, A. (2010). Divorce,
Religious Coping, and Depressive Symptoms in a Conservative Protestant Religious
Group. Family Relations, 59: 544-557.
Ellison, C & Stokes, C. (2010), Religion and Attitudes Towards Divorce Laws Among U.S.
Adults. Journal of Family Issues, 31, (10): 1279-1304.
Francis, L., Village, A. & Williams, E. (2010) Does Religion Make a Difference? Assessing the
Effects of Christian Affiliation and Practice on Martial Solidarity and Divorce in Britain,
1885-2005. Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 51: 327-338.
Jenkins, K. (2010). In Concert and Alone” Divorce and Congregational Experience. Journal for
the Scientific Study of Religion, 49, (2): 278-292.
Kapinus, C & Pellerin, L. (2008). The influence of parents’ religious practices on young
adults’ divorce attitudes, Social Science Research, 37: 801–814.
Klein D., & White J, (2008). Family Theories., (3): 36.
Krumrei, E., Mahoney, A., & Pargament, K. (2009). Divorce and the Divine: The Role of

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Spirituality in Adjustment to Divorce. Journal of Marriage and Family, 71: 373-383.
Mahoney, A. (2010). Religion in Families, 1999-2009: A Relational Spirituality Framework.
Journal of Marriage and Family, 72:805-827.
Tanaka, K. (2010). The Effect of Divorce Experience on Religious Involvement: Implications for
Later Health Lifestyle, Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 51: (1), 1-15.