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Living in sin? : religion and cohabitation in Britain 1985-2005

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Village, Andrew, Williams, Emyr and Francis, Leslie J.. (2010) Living in sin? : religion and cohabitation in Britain 1985-2005. Marriage & Family Review, Vol.46 (No.6/7). pp. 468-479. ISSN 0149-4929

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01494929.2010.528710

Abstract

Frequency of cohabitation among 13,703 adults from the British Social Attitudes dataset for 1985-2005 peaked at around 26-30 years of age, and increased significantly over the period of study. Cohabitation frequency was compared between those of no religious affiliation and Christian affiliates who (a) attended church at least once a month, (b) attended church, but less than once a month, and (c) never attended church. Active Christians were 3.2 times less likely to cohabit than non-affiliates, and rates of cohabitation have remained stable over time in this group. Christian affiliates who never attended church were 1.2 times less likely to cohabit than non-affiliates, suggesting that even affiliation without attendance may indicate greater affinity to Christian moral attitudes compared with non-affiliates.

Item Type: Journal Article
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BR Christianity
H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman
Divisions: Faculty of Social Sciences > Institute of Education
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): Unmarried couples -- Great Britain, Sex -- Religious aspects -- Christianity, Christian ethics -- Great Britain
Journal or Publication Title: Marriage & Family Review
Publisher: Routledge
ISSN: 0149-4929
Date: August 2010
Volume: Vol.46
Number: No.6/7
Page Range: pp. 468-479
Identification Number: 10.1080/01494929.2010.528710
Status: Peer Reviewed
Access rights to Published version: Restricted or Subscription Access
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URI: http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/4149

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