This study examines the question Does the rate of currently divorced in counties in the United States vary inversely to the relative percentage of concentration of adherents of seven different religious denominational groupings—Catholic, Jewish, Mormon, conservative Protestant, moderate Protestant, liberal Protestant, and miscellaneous Protestant—within those counties? The analysis is based on data from the 1990 U.S. Census and the Glenmary Research Center that pertain to a 20% random sample of counties from each of the 50 states (i.e., 621 counties). The results show, controlling for other selected variables known to be associated with the likelihood of divorce, that higher divorced rates are significantly related to a lower concentration of moderate Protestants, miscellaneous Protestants, Catholics, and Mormons.
Abbott, D. A., Berry, M., & Meredith, W. H. (1990). Religious belief and practice: A potential asset in helping families. Family Relations39, 443-448.
2.
Aldous, J. (1983). Problematic elements in the relationship between churches and families. In W. D'Antonio & J. Aldous (Eds.), Families and religions: Conflict and change in modern society (pp. 67-80). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
3.
Bahr, H. M., & Chadwick, B. A. (1985). Religion and family in Middletown, USA. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 47, 407-414.
4.
Barna Group. (2001a). Denominations. Retrieved July 7, 2004, from http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=Topic&TopicID=16
5.
Barna Group. (2001b). Family. Retrieved July 7, 2004, from http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=Topic&TopicID=20
6.
Bellah, R. N., Madsen, R., Sullivan, W. M., Swidler, A., & Tipton, S. M. (1985). Habits of the heart. Berkley: University of California Press.
7.
Blau, P. M., Beeker, C., & Fitzpatrick, K. M. (1984). Intersecting social affiliations and intermarriage. Social Forces62, 585-605.
8.
Blum, T. C. (1985). Structural constraints on interpersonal relations: A test of Blau's macrosociological theory. American Journal of Sociology, 91, 511-521.
9.
Booth, A., Johnson, D., Branaman, A., & Sica, A. (1995). Belief and behavior: Does religion matter in today's marriage. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 57, 661-673.
10.
Booth, A., Johnson, D., White, L., & Edwards, J. (1985). Women, outside employment, and marital stability. American Journal of Sociology, 90, 567-583.
11.
Bradley, M., Green, N., Jr., Jones, D., Lynn, M., & McNeil, L. (1992). Churches and church membership in the United States 1990: An enumeration by region state and county based on data reported for 133 church groupings. Atlanta, GA: Glenmary Research Center.
12.
Breault, K. D., & Kposawa, A. J. (1987). Explaining divorce in the United States: A study of 3,111 counties, 1980. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 49, 549-558.
13.
Brigman, K. M. (1984). Churches helping families. Family Perspectives18, 77-84.
14.
Brodbar-Nemzer, J. Y. (1986). Divorce and group commitment: The case of the Jews. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 48, 329-340.
15.
Burgess, E. W., Locke, H. J., & Thomas, M. M. (1963). The Family: From institution to companionship (3rd ed.). New York: American Book Company.
16.
Burr, J., McCall, P., & Powell-Griner, E. (1994). Catholic religion and suicide: The mediating effect of divorce. Social Science Quarterly, 75, 300-318.
17.
Call, V., & Heaton, T. B. (1997). Religious influence on marital stability. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 36, 382-392.
18.
Carlson, C. (1990). Perspectives on the family: History, class, and feminism. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
19.
Chaves, M. (1994). Secularization as declining religious authority. Social Forces, 72, 749-774.
20.
Chaves, M., & Gorski, P. S. (2001). Religious pluralism and religious participation. Annual Review of Sociology, 27, 261-281.
21.
Chi, S. K., & Houseknecht, S. K. (1985). Protestant fundamentalism and marital success: A comparative approach. Sociology and Social Research, 69, 351-374.%
22.
Coombs, L. C., & Zumeta, Z. (1970). Correlates of marital dissolution in a prospective fertility study: A research note. Social Problems, 18, 92-102.
23.
D'Antonio, W. (1983). Family life, religion, and societal values and structures. In W. D'Antonio & J. Aldous (Eds.), Families and religion: Conflict and change in modern society (pp. 81-108). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
24.
D'Antonio, W., & Aldous, J. (Eds.). (1983). Families and religions: Conflict and change in modern society. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
25.
Durkheim, E. (1951). Suicide: A study in sociology(J. A. Spaulding & G. Simpson, Trans.). New York: Free Press. (Original work published 1897)
26.
Durkheim, E. (1965). The elementary forms of religious life (J. W. Swain, Trans.). New York: Free Press. (Original work published 1915)
27.
Ellison, C. G., Bartkowski, J. P., & Anderson, K. L. (1999). Are there religious variations in domestic violence?Journal of Family Issues, 20, 87-113.
28.
Ellison, C. G., Burr, J., & McCall, P. (1997). Religious homogeneity and metropolitan suicide rates. Social Forces, 76, 273-299.
29.
Eshleman, R. J. (1994). The family: An introduction (7th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
30.
Giblin, R. (1993). Marital conflict and marital spirituality. In R. J. Wicks & R. D. Parsons (Eds.), Clinical handbook of pastoral counseling (Vol. 2, pp. 313-328). New York: Integration, Paulist.
31.
Glenn, N., & Shelton, B. A. (1985). Regional differences in divorce in the United States. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 47, 641-652.
32.
Glenn, N., & Supancic, M. (1984). The social and demographic correlates of divorce and separation in the United States: An update and reconsideration. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 46, 563-575.
33.
Glock, C., Runger, B., & Babbie, E. (1967). To comfort and challenge: Dilemma of the contemporary church. Berkeley: University of California Press.
34.
Guttentag, M., & Secord, P. (1983). Too many women? The sex ratio question. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
35.
Hargrove, B. (1983). The church, the family, and the modernization process. In W. D'Antonio & J. Aldous (Eds.), Families and religion: Conflict and change in modern society (pp. 21-48). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
36.
Harrison, M. I., & Lazerwitz, B. (1982). Do denominations matter?American Journal of Sociology, 88, 356-377.
37.
Heaton, T. B. (1986). How does religion influence fertility? The case of Mormons. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 25, 248-258.
38.
Heaton, T. B., & Pratt, E. L. (1990). The effects of religious homogamy on marital satisfaction and stability. Journal of Family Issues, 11, 191-208.
39.
Herfindahl, O. C. (1950). Concentration in the steel industry. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Columbia University, New York.
40.
Hoge, D., & Roozen, D. (Eds.). (1979). Understanding church growth and decline: 1950-1970. New York: Pilgrim.
41.
Iannacone, L. (1991). The consequences of religious market regulation: Adam Smith and the economics of religion. Rationality and Society3, 156-177.
42.
Jelen, T. G. (1984). Respect for life, sexual morality, and opposition to abortion. Review of Religious Research, 25, 220-231.
43.
Larson, L. L., & Goltz, J. W. (1989). Religious participation and marital commitment. Review of Religious Research, 30, 387-400.
44.
Lehrer, E. L., & Chiswick, C. U. (1993). Religion as a determinant of marital stability. Demography, 30, 385-404.
45.
Mahoney, A., Pargament, K. I., Jewell, T., Swank, A. B., Scott, E., Emery, E., et al. (1999). Marriage and the spiritual realm: The role of proximal and distal religious constructs in marital functioning. Journal of Family Psychology, 13, 321-338.
46.
Mahoney, A., Pargament, K. I., Tarakeshwar, N., & Swank, A. B. (2001). Religion in the home in the 1980s and 1990s: A meta-analytic review and conceptual analysis of links between religion, marriage, and parenting. Journal of Family Psychology, 15, 559-596.
47.
Martin, T. C., & Bumpass, L. L. (1989). Recent trends in marital disruption. Demography, 26, 37-51.
48.
Milardo, R. M. (2000). The decade in review. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62, 873-875.
49.
Mullins, L. C., Brackett, K. P., Bogie, D. W., & Pruett, D. (2004). The impact of religious homogeneity on divorce in the United States. Sociological Inquiry, 74, 338-354.
50.
Ortega, S. T., Whitt, H. P., & William, A. J., Jr. (1988). Religious homogamy and marital happiness. Journal of Family Issues9, 224-239.
51.
Pavalko, E. K., & Elder, G., Jr. (1990). World War II and divorce: A life course perspective. American Journal of Sociology, 5, 1213-1234.
52.
Pescosolido, B. A., & Georgiana, S. (1989). Durkheim, suicide, and religion: Toward a network theory of suicide. American Sociological Review, 54, 33-48.
53.
Roof, W. C., & McKinney, W. (1987). American mainline religion. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
54.
Schumm, W. R., Bollman, S. R., & Jurich, A. P. (1982). The “marital conventionalization” argument: Implications for the study of religiosity and marital satisfaction. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 10, 236-241.
55.
Schumm, W. R., Jeong, G. J., & Silliman, B. (1990). Protestant fundamentalism and marital success revisited. Psychological Reports, 66, 905-906.
56.
Schumm, W. R., Obiorah, F. C., & Silliman, B. (1989). Marital quality as a function of conservative religious identification in a sample of Protestant and Catholic wives from the Midwest. Psychological Reports, 64, 124-126.
57.
Shelton, B. A. (1987). Variations in divorce rates by community size: A test of the social integration explanation. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 49, 827-832.
58.
Sherkat, D. E., & Ellison, C. G. (1999). Recent developments and current controversies in the sociology of religion. Annual Review of Sociology, 25, 363-395.
59.
South, S. J. (1985). Economic conditions and the divorce rate. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 47, 31-41.
60.
Stacey, J. (1990). Brave new families: Stories of domestic upheaval in late twentieth century America. New York: Basic Books.
61.
Stark, R., & Glock, C. Y. (1973). Are we entering a post-Christian era? In C. Y. Glock (Ed.), Religion in sociological perspective. Essays in the empirical study of religion (pp. 284-296). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
62.
Stolzenberg, R. M., Blair-Loy, M., & Waite, L. J. (1995). Religious participation in early adulthood: Age and family life cycle effects on church membership. American Sociological Review, 60, 84-88.
63.
Sullivan, K. T. (2001). Understanding the relationship between religiosity and marriage: An investigation of the immediate and longitudinal effects of religiosity on newly wed couples. Journal of Family Psychology, 15, 610-626.
64.
Thomas, D. L. (1988). The religion and family connection: Social science perspectives. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University, Religious Studies Center.
65.
Thomas, D. L., & Cornwall, M. (1990). Religion and family in the 1980s: Discovery and development. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 52, 983-992.
66.
Thornton, A., & Camburn, D. (1989). Religious participation and adolescent sexual behavior and attitudes. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 51, 641-653.
67.
Trent, K., & South, S. (1989). Structural determinants of the divorce rate: A cross-sectional analysis. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 51, 391-404.
68.
Turner, B. (1991). Religion and social theory (2nd ed.). London: Sage.
69.
United Nations. (2001). Demographic yearbook, 1999. New York: United Nations Publishing Division.
70.
U.S. Bureau of the Census. (1991). 1990 census of population and housing, Population and housing unit counts (CPH-2 Series). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
71.
U.S. Bureau of the Census. (1992a). 1990 census of population General population characteristics (CP-1 Series). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
72.
U.S. Bureau of the Census. (1992b). Marital status and living arrangements (Series P-20, No. 468). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
73.
U.S. Bureau of the Census. (1993). 1990 census of population Social and economic characteristics (CP-2 Series). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
74.
U.S. Bureau of the Census. (1995). Statistical abstract of the United States (115th ed.). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
75.
U.S. Bureau of the Census. (2004). Geographical mobility/migration. Retrieved October 19, 2004, from http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/migrate.html
76.
Williams, L. M., & Lawler, M. G. (2003). Martial satisfaction and religious heterogamy: A comparison of interchurch and same-church individuals. Journal of Family Issues, 24, 1070-1092.
77.
Wilson, B. (1982). Religion in sociological perspective. New York: Oxford University Press.
78.
Wilson, M. R., & Filsinger, E. E. (1986). Religiosity and marital adjustment: Multidimensional interrelationships. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 48, 147-151.
79.
Wittberg, P. (1999). Families and religions. In M. Sussman, S. K. Steinmetz, & G. W. Peterson (Eds.), Handbook of marriage and the family (2nd ed., pp. 503-523). New York: Plenum.
