1. Why Religion Matters to You Right Now and in Your Future Family
Why Does the Religion-Family Connection Matter to Us on a Personal Level?
Why Does Emerging Adulthood Matter to Us?
Why Does the Religion-Family Connection Matter to Us on a Professional Level?
Not an Answer Book but a Question Book
The BIG Questions
Why Should Any of This Matter to You?
The “Danger of a Single Story”: The Complexity of Religious Dualities
2. What in the World Is Religion?
Defining “Religion”
BAD-RAP Definitions of Religion
Beyond BAD-RAP Definitions of Religion
The (Partial) Rejection of the BAD-RAP Hypothesis of Religion
Operational Definitions of Religion: How Should We “Measure” Religion?
Inviting More Than One Family Member to Sit for the Family Portrait
Limited Depth, Breadth, and Color in the Research on Religion and Families
A Multi-Dimensional Definition of Religion
Connections between the Three Dimensions of Religion
A Fourth Dimension of Religion and Spirituality: Sacred Experiences
3. The Influence of Religious Beliefs and Practices in Marriage
The Early Years of Marriage: “Growing Up” and Moving from “Me” to “We”
The Importance of Being “Equally Yoked”
Why Do Those with Shared Religious Beliefs have Stronger Marriages?
Theme 1: The Unifying Influence of Pro-Marriage Beliefs
Theme 2: The Stabilizing Influence of Anti-Divorce Beliefs
Theme 3: The Importance of Shared Religious Beliefs in Marriage
Theme 4: Faith in God as a Marital Support
4. Conflicts, Struggles, and Stressors: Religion as a Source and Resource
The “Danger of a Single Story” Revisited: Religion is not All Good or All Bad Religious Beliefs as a Source of Harm in Marriages and Families
Harm #1: Excessively Rigid Anti-Divorce Beliefs
Harm #2: Male Domination
Harm #3: Family Conflict and Tension Due to Divergent Religious Beliefs
Religious Firmness and Flexibility
The Potent Harm of Parental Examples of “Toxic Faith”
Life Stressors and Resilience
Religious Coping
Variations of Religious Coping
Negative Religious Coping and Spiritual Struggles
Positive Religious Coping in the Face of Challenges
Theme 1: Keeping a Long-Term Perspective
Theme 2: Challenges are Needed in Life
Theme 3: Challenges Can Bring People Closer to God
5. The Rise of the “Nones” and “Dones” and Increased Interfaith Marriage
A Demographic Portrait of Religious “Nones”
A Closer Look at Religious “Dones”
A Third Type of Dones: The “Returners” (and Their Children)
Perceptions of Religious Nones: Qualitative Findings
Theme 1: “We are Good People, Good Parents, and Not that Different from You”
Theme 2: “Religion Does Not Equate with Morality”
Theme 3: “Do Not Judge Beliefs, Actions are What Matter”
Theme 4: “I Do/Do Not Want to Talk about Religion and Here is Why”
Interfaith Marriage in the United States
The Dualistic Implications of Interfaith Trends
Strengths of Interfaith Marriage
Qualitative Perspectives on Strengths of Interfaith Marriages
Struggles of Interfaith Marriage
Strategies for Success in Interfaith Marriages
Successful Interfaith Marriages A.F.F.I.R.M.
The Persistence and Potential of Shared-Faith Marriage
Matched-Level Marriage
Are You on the Same Page?
6. Parenting, Religion, and American Families of Faith
How and Why Does Religion Help and Harm Parent-Child Relationships?
The Importance of Parental Warmth in Religion
Parenting, Family Rituals, and Religious Practices
Parental Example and “Practicing What You Preach”
Talking the Talk: Encouraging Youth-Oriented Religious Conversations
Parent-Centered Conversations
Youth-Centered Conversations
When Parents Are Not What They Should Be
Positive Examples and Modeling from Persons Other than Parents
7. Strong Hispanic American Families of Faith
Exploring the Racially and Ethnically Diverse World of Religion and Families
A Note on Building a Racially and Ethnically Diverse Research “Dream Team”
A Brief Overview of Hispanic Families in the United States
Anxiety, Mental Health, Suicidality, and Religion among U.S. Hispanic Persons
A Narrative of Religious Influence in a Hispanic Family
Strong Hispanic Families in the American Families of Faith Project
Interview Excerpts from Strong Hispanic Families in the American Families of Faith Project
8. Strong Asian American Families of Faith
A Brief Overview of Asian Families in the United States
Korean Families in the United States
Japanese Families in the United States
Chinese Families in the United States
Strong Asian Christian Families in the American Families of Faith Project
China’s One Child Policy and Religious Parents
Living and Modeling a Life of Faith
Asian Christian Collectivism, Connection, and the Faith Community as “Family”
Challenges Confronting Asian Christian Immigrant Families in the United States
9. Strong African American Families of Faith
Strong African American Families in the American Families of Faith Project
Why Do Religious African Americans Live So Much Longer?
Theme 1: Active Faith Involvement and the Aged: “It Keeps Them Alive …”
Theme 2: Avoiding Negative Coping: “You Become What You Do … Stay Away from the Street Life”
Theme 3: Evading Violence: “The Ones Who Don’t Attend Church Are … Dying at a Young Age”
Theme 4: The Absence of Hope: “Giving Up on Faith … Giving Up on Life”
Theme 5: Social Support: “Church Family IS Family”
Theme 6: The Power of Prayer: “Cast Your Cares Upon the Lord”/“You Can Overcome”
Key Challenges and Stressors in African American Marriages
Challenge 1. Balancing Work and Family while Facing Racism: “The Time Bind” in Color
Challenge 2. Helping Extended Family, Neighbors, and Kin: “Responding to Knocks of Need”
Divine Connection: “It’s More than a Religion, It’s a Relationship.”
10. Muslim Families in the United States
What is Islam? Who is a Muslim?
Muslims in the United States and Muslim U.S. Demographics
Challenges of Being a Religious Minority: Muslim Perspectives
The Muslim Practice of Hijab
Muslim Religious Community
Muslim Religious Observance in the Home
11. Jewish Families in the United States
Jewish Family Life
Who is a Jew? What is Judaism?
Jews in the United States and Jewish U.S. Demographics
Challenges of Being a Religious Minority: Jewish Perspectives
Religious Community: The Synagogue in Judaism
Jewish Religious Observance in the Home
12. Religion and Diverse Family Forms: LGBTQ Families and Families of Divorce
Section 1: Religion and LGBTQ Individuals and Families
Theme 1: LGBTQ Religiosity
Theme 2: LGBTQ Well-being
Theme 3: The Role of Family in LGBTQ Well-being
Theme 4: The Role of Religion in LGBTQ Well-being
Section Summary on Religion and LGBTQ Individuals and Families
Section 2: The Influence of Divorce and Religion on Emerging Adults
Emerging Social Science on How the Decline of Marriage Impacts Faith Communities
Parental Divorce and Children’s Religious Involvement
Can Faith Increase After Parental Divorce?
Role of Parents in Children’s Religious Lives
Role of Faith Communities in Children’s Religious Lives
13. Religion, Sex, and Gender Roles in Marriage
Religion and Sex
Does Religion Ruin Sex?
The Importance of Context in Studying Associations Between Religion and Sex
Sex in Highly Religious Marriages
The Good News for Persons of Faith in Connection with Marital Sex
Sexual Sanctification: Divine and Human Connection
Teaching Virtue
Sexual Boundaries
Boundaries Theme 1: Divinely Set Boundaries Around Sex
Boundaries Theme 2: Fidelity as Freeing for a Marital Sexual Relationship
The Takeaway Message regarding Religion and Sex
Religion and Gender Roles within Traditional Marriage
American Families of Faith Findings on Gender Roles and Religion
Potential for Harm in Religiously Prescribed Traditional Gender Roles
Balance and Safety in Religiously Prescribed Traditional Gender Roles
The Takeaway Message regarding Religion and Gender Roles
14. Forgiveness, Repentance, and Families
Individual and Relational Processes of Interpersonal Forgiveness Forgiveness is a Process Not an Event Religious Foundations of Forgiveness Across Faiths Processes of Repentance and Seeking Divine Forgiveness across the Abrahamic Faiths Religious and Relational Motivations and Resources Enabling Forgiveness and Repentance Religious and Spiritual Beliefs Motivate and Enable Forgiveness and Repentance Relational Experiences and Interactions Motivate and Enable Forgiveness and Repentance Cautions and Complications for Forgiveness
Cautions and Complications of Religious Repentance
Consequences of Forgiveness for Family Relationships Consequences of Repentance for Family Relationships
15. What We Have Learned and What We Hope You Will Take with You
Learnings from the Book
Three Take-Home Messages from the Religion and Families Book
Message 1: Significant Commitment Matters (The “Threshold Effect”)
Message 2: Shared Faith Matters
Message 3: Synergy among Dimensions of Religion Matters
