In this paper, we examine the question of whether religion—affiliation, beliefs, and practice—provides a source of marital strength and stability in the lives of American couples. Unlike most previous studies, we focus on religion and marital quality among 433 low-income married couples with co-residential minor children, using recently collected survey data on both spouses sampled in the Marital and Relationship Survey (MARS). Our working hypothesis is that religiosity is a positive force for marital quality among low-income couples, and that a practicing faith can buffer the negative effects of economic stress on marital quality. The results indicate that most low-income couples have unexpectedly high scores on the various dimensions of marital quality (e.g., commitment, emotional support, etc.). Religious affiliation and personal religious beliefs are less important for marital quality than if couples share similar beliefs about God’s divine plans for them and their relationship, if they pray together, or if they attend religious services together. On the other hand, the stress-buffering hypothesis received little support in our analysis. At a minimum, the results clearly highlight the potential role of religion in the marital lives of low-income couples. The implication is that faith-based organizations (including churches and synagogues) may have a particularly strong role to play in nurturing the spiritual lives and enhancing the quality of the intimate marital relationships of their flocks.
Religion has been on obvious display in recent debates over poverty and welfare reform, especially as new federally funded, faith-based initiatives and programs have moved forward to promote “healthy marriages” (Nock, 2005 and Reingold et al., 2007). Indeed, a recent front-page story in the New York Times reported more than 450 congressional earmarks for religious groups during the last two years of President Bush’s first term, compared with less than 60 at the end of the Clinton Administration in the late 1990s ( Henriques and Lehren, 2007). New legislation, including the reauthorization of the 1996 welfare reform bill, has greatly expanded the federal government’s role in strengthening marriage, promoting fatherhood, and steering positive economic and developmental trajectories for America’s children ( Dion, 2005 and Kane and Lichter, 2006). Faith-based organizations have played an unprecedented role in this initiative ( Dion, 2005 and Reingold et al., 2007). For many if not most Americans, marriage between a man and a woman is a sacred institution that is shaped by religious teachings, values and beliefs, and practices (e.g., attendance or prayer) ( Bartkowksi, 2001, Browning and Rodriguez, 2002 and Wilcox, 2004) and children are often regarded as a blessing or gift from God. Under the circumstances, the growing role of religion in the public policy arena is both controversial and understandable ( Blank and McGurn, 2004).
