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Does religion make a difference? : assessing the effects of Christian affiliation and practice on marital solidarity and divorce in Britain, 1985-2005

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Village, Andrew, Williams, Emyr and Francis, Leslie J.. (2010) Does religion make a difference? : assessing the effects of Christian affiliation and practice on marital solidarity and divorce in Britain, 1985-2005. Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, Vol.51 (No.6). pp. 327-338. ISSN 1050-2556

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Abstract

Marital breakdown rates were examined among 15,714 adults from the British Social Attitudes dataset for 1985-2005. Separation and divorce peaked at around 50 years of age, and increased significantly over the period of study. Ratios of separation or divorce were compared between respondents who had no religious affiliation and (a) Christian affiliates who attended church at least once a month, (b) Christian affiliates who attended church, but less than once a month, and (c) Christian affiliates who never attended church. The results showed that active Christians were 1.5 times less likely to suffer marital breakdown than non-affiliates, but there was no difference between affiliates who never attended church and those of no religion. Christians who attended infrequently were 1.3 times less likely to suffer marital breakdown compared to non-affiliates, suggesting that even infrequent attendance at church may have some significance for predicting the persistence of martial solidarity.

Item Type: Journal Article
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BT Doctrinal Theology
H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman
Divisions: Faculty of Social Sciences > Institute of Education ( -2013)
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): Divorce -- Religious aspects -- Christianity, Divorce -- Great Britain -- Statistics
Journal or Publication Title: Journal of Divorce & Remarriage
Publisher: Routledge
ISSN: 1050-2556
Official Date: August 2010
Volume: Vol.51
Number: No.6
Page Range: pp. 327-338
Identification Number: 10.1080/10502551003652041
Status: Peer Reviewed
Access rights to Published version: Restricted or Subscription Access
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URI: http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/4173

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