Trends in Interfaith Marriage, Religious Composition, and Happiness among US Newlyweds from 1955 – 2022

• In Event: 50868 - Rethinking Boundaries, Practices, and Paradigms in Contemporary Religious Life

Abstract

This study examines U.S. trends in interfaith marriage, religious composition, and marital happiness from 1955 to 2022, evaluating the applicability of secularization theory and other frameworks. Some applications of secularization theory suggest that as religion’s societal influence diminishes, there is less emphasis on religious homogamy and reduced marital distress and instability due to religious differences. While increased interfaith marriage is often seen as a sign of increased societal acceptance of religious diversity, its relationship with marital quality remains complex. This paper explores how shifts in religious composition and interfaith marriage rates interact, and whether the association between interfaith status and marital happiness has changed over time.
Using data from the Integrated Fertility Survey Series and the General Social Survey, the study finds that the proportion of interfaith marriages increased from 11.5% in the 1950s to 24.7% in 2010-2022. However, decomposition analyses show that 70.3% of this rise is due to shifts in religious composition, particularly the growing religiously unaffiliated population. Interestingly, while the growing unaffiliated population contributed substantially to increased interfaith marriage, the non-religious population has actually decreased their rates of marrying within the unaffiliated group.
Ordered logistic regression indicates that interfaith marriage is generally associated with lower marital happiness, with the strongest negative association in the 2020s. Interestingly, the 2000s marked a brief anomaly, where interfaith couples reported higher marital happiness than same-faith couples. These findings suggest that religion continues to play a significant role in marital interfaith functioning, even as the U.S. population becomes more religiously diverse.
This study highlights the complex relationship between religious composition, interfaith marriage rates, and marital happiness, and calls for further research on the effects of religious disaffiliation on marital quality. It contributes to understanding the evolving nature of marriage in a society where religious boundaries are becoming less rigid, yet still influential.

Author

• Justin Hendricks, Pennsylvania State University