Aman, J., Abbas, J., Nurunnabi, M., & Bano, S. (2019).

The relationship of religiosity and

marital satisfaction: The role of religious commitment and practices on marital

satisfaction among Pakistani respondents. Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 30(9), 1-13.

The study surveyed 508 married couples over the age of 20 and was aimed at discovering

whether high religious commitment and frequent practices correlated with high marital

satisfaction. Consistent with other studies, researchers found that more religious couples

experiences more satisfaction in their relationship than did couples who were not as religious or

did not identify with a religion. Religiosity was found to have created intimacy between partners,

and identity in a religion allows for the emphasis on the sacredness and importance of marriage.

This study is important because it looks specifically at the marital and religious trends in

Pakistan, where 97% of religious people identify as Muslim. Other studies focus solely on

Christian traditions, but the current study has found similar trend to those that focus on

Christianity. It can be inferred that marital satisfaction can be liked with level of religiosity and

worship practices across different faith groups.

Briggs, D. (2015). 5 ways faith contributes to strong marriages. Huffpost.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/5-ways-faith-contributes_b_6294716

The five methods offered in the article for utilizing faith to better a marriage include

praying for one another, being spiritually honest, loving with compassion, build individual

relationships with God, and demonstrate faithfulness. The article acknowledges that these

practices may not work for everyone, but could be helpful for marriages in which faith is already

emphasized. The five methods are meant to aid in conflict resolution, thus creating a more

satisfying relationship and home environment.

 The post pulls from psychological studies to arrive at the five suggestions for

strengthening marital relationships. Some of the suggestions were found to be effective for

younger couples, while others were effective for older couples such as loving compassionately.

If growing in faith together leads older couples to believe they have grown stronger in their love

for one another, what might be effective ways for younger couples to grow into that belief?

Call, V.R., & Heaton, T. (1997). Religious Influence on Marital Stability. Journal for the

Scientific Study of Religion, 36(3), 382-392. doi:10.2307/1387856

This study found that church attendance is positively associated with marital satisfaction and

stability, which then reduces the likelihood of dissolution. Divorce is more likely to occur if one

person attends regularly while the other doesn’t. Both partners participating in religious activities

and friendships in religious communities increases couple support, solidarity, and stability.

These findings are consistent with many other studies I have researched – both Mullins

(2016) and Shehan and colleagues (1990) found that couples who attend mass individually (even

if they share the same religion) are more likely to experience tension, difficulty resolving that

tension, and therefore more often divorce than couples who attend mass together. Consistent

with Wink and Dillion’s (2008) findings of religious community involvement fostering

involvement in outside communities, the current study found that religious community

involvement leads to relationship building.

Day, J. M. (2017). Religion and human development in adulthood: Well-being, prosocial

behavior, and religious and spiritual development. Behavioral Development Bulletin, 22(2),

298-313. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.loras.edu/10.1037/bdb0000031
 This article is valid partially because of how recent it was written. The article provides a

literature review that discusses the value of spirituality/religion throughout adulthood. Religion

has been associated with positive relationships and can be a problem-solving tool for relationship

issues, which can be translated to a marital relationship. Forgiveness is a spiritual practice that

has been found to lower hostility, which may be why religiosity can provide a means for marital

stability and satisfaction.

I found it interesting that this article linked forgiveness specifically with being religious – it

is an important aspect of many religions, but is also somewhat expected in the secular world of

relationships as well. In relating forgiveness to religion, however, there is an undertone of mercy

and self-giving love, which may be why, in this context, forgiveness more effectively leads to

marital satisfaction.

Filsinger, E., & Wilson, M. (1984). Religiosity, Socioeconomic Rewards, and Family

Development: Predictors of Marital Adjustment. Journal of Marriage and Family, 46(3),

663-670. doi:10.2307/352607

This study involved 220 married couples who were members of various Christian church

communities. Most of the couples were in their first year of marriage. Religiosity was found to

correlate positively with marital adjustment, which the researchers credit to the accommodations

and norms perpetuated by Christian traditions. Accommodations such that belief in God allows

people to be more satisfied in other areas of their life despite minor issues and norms such that

Christianity provides a way of life that is described and followed without reinventing individual

morals.
 Although one of the survey measures included social consequences of religiosity (unsure

of actual questions asked), the survey measures did not seem to get at the idea of Christianity as

“accommodating” or providing “norms”. Because of this, it seems as though the researchers’

claim that marital adjustment is due to these two factors in unsupported and requires further

inquiry.

Gruner, L. (1985). The Correlation of Private, Religious Devotional Practices and Marital

Adjustment. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 16(1), 47–59. Retrieved from

http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.loras.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=13426

264&site=ehost-live

This study looks at the effect of private devotional practice on marital adjustment and

satisfaction. Prayer was found to correlate positively with marital satisfaction for several

Christian affiliations. 53% of the couples surveyed claimed to use prayer frequently in order to

address marital issues. The limitations identified by the researchers are that non-religious groups

were not accounted for, and the question of whether marital satisfaction is related to religious

affiliation or social/cultural expectations was not considered.

This study is an early documentation of the important role of prayer in marriage, but does

not evaluate other aspects of spirituality. Prayer is not the only contributor to spirituality or to

marital satisfaction, so it is difficult to consider it in a vacuum as this study attempted to do.

Markway, B. (2013). Four keys to a spiritual marriage. Psychology Today.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/living-the-questions/201304/four-keys-

spiritual-marriage
 Often married couples experience an emptiness in their relationship or even just the

feeling of something missing from their relationship. Dr. Markway discusses ways to allow

spirituality to enter a marriage which includes recognizing your marriage as a spiritual journey

rather than a means to an end and provides practical methods to openly integrate spirituality into

committed relationships. Couples to whom faith is important must recognize their relationship as

a sacred one, allowing for spirituality to unite them in their differences. Patience and random acts

of kindness toward one another leads couples to learn to approach difficulty in the same manner.

Dr. Markway’s article offers a different perspective to the topic of faith in marriage than

I’ve been researching – she evaluates marriage through the lens of spirituality rather than vice

versa. She provides tips for helping to resolve marital issues using principles of faith, but they

are not supported by any effective evidence.

Mayseless, O., & Russo-Netzer, P. (2017). A vision for the farther reaches of spirituality: A

phenomenologically based model of spiritual development and growth. Spirituality in

Clinical Practice, 4(3), 176-192.

doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.loras.edu/10.1037/scp0000147

This article provides a model for growing spiritually throughout the lifespan. It is a way

of joining together the inner and outer wholeness, allowing spirituality to permeate the marital

relationship. Part of the model includes developing respect, care, and service, which are all vital

working parts of a marital relationship. The researchers place an emphasis on inner wholeness

(peace, gratitude, compassion, sense of purpose) before moving to an outward wholeness, which

are combined by aspects of respect, inclusivity, and humility.

 The focus on inner wholeness as important to developing oneself spiritually before

reaching out in relationship to others is a phenomenon that has an impact on the level of

satisfaction in a marriage. Each partner must first have an established sense of inner peace and an

individual relationship with their spirituality before they can effectively share those aspects with

someone else.

Mullins, D.F. (2016). The effects of religion on enduring marriages. Multidisciplinary Digital

Publishing Institute: Social Sciences, 5(24), 1-14. doi:10.3390/socsci5020024

This study focused specifically on older adults in committed relationships and examined

the impact of religiosity on the marriage of 43 Christian couples. The researchers found that

religiosity does in fact have a positive impact on long-term marriage, however there were also

specific areas of religious practice that caused minimal harm to the relationship. For example,

prayer often helped couples to feel connected to each other and their spirituality, yet other

couples found that praying together often brought up blame and other things harmful to the

relationship. If couples attended mass together regularly, their marital satisfaction would be

higher. However, if tensions were high in the marriage and one partner did not attend service

with the other, pre-existing tensions were inflamed.

This study was a qualitative one, allowing for couples to work through their thoughts on

faith and marriage, which aided in bringing some of the negatives of a shared faith in a marriage

to light. The drawbacks to shared faith are emphasized, and should be taken into consideration in

other studies that only look at the positives.

Shehan, C.L., Wilbur, E.B., & Lee, G.R. (1990). Religious heterogamy, religiosity, and marital

happiness: The case of Catholics. Journal of Marriage and Family, 1(52), 73-79.

This study involved 1,753 couples, 1,341 of which were homogamous Catholic marriages

and 412 are in interfaith marriages. Researchers found that couples who married another Catholic

and attended mass together regularly were more satisfied in their marriage than those who

married someone of a different faith and/or rarely attended mass together.

This relates to Mullins’ (2016) study in that findings of irregular mass attendance as a

couple correlates with lower marital satisfaction overall. Couples who identify with different

religions re already at a deficit because they might not have the option of attending worship

services together as a means of conflict resolution.

Stanton, G. (2018). Does faith reduce divorce risk? Public Discourse.

https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2018/03/20935/

This journal summarizes recent research on faith in marriage and found consistency in

that couples who share both inner beliefs and outward spiritual practices are more likely to

remain together. Shared faith allows for better conflict resolution skills, which contributes to the

statistic that these couples are 47% less likely to get a divorce than a couple who does not have

faith in common. Regular prayer as a part of joint daily life for couples has been found to

increase marital satisfaction. Regular church attendance has also done so – worship services

often reinforce the sacredness of marriage, increase well-being, and expose couples to resources.

This remains true across race and ethnicity as well.

I like that this article has provided reasons for why church services can not only be

helpful in maintaining a marriage, but also in promoting and reinforcing marital values. The
article is consistent with others in that prayer and attending worship services can increase

satisfaction and relational health. It is important to note that Christianity is the religion the article

seems to be referring to, and it would be interesting to look at the possible differences in

satisfaction and divorce rate for couples outside of Christianity.

Wink, P., & Dillon, M. (2008). Religiousness, spirituality, and psychosocial functioning in late

adulthood: Findings from a longitudinal study. Psychology of Religion and

Spirituality, S(1), 102-115. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.loras.edu/10.1037/1941-

1022.S.1.102

This study utilizes a longitudinal model which examines the relationship between

religiosity, well-being, everyday tasks, and wisdom across late-adulthood. Well-being and

religiosity were found to be positively related to community building and healthy relationships

with others, meaning that growing in religious communities was more likely to translate to

community building outside of the faith group. Spirituality is also positively related to personal

growth, and not at all related to narcissism, all things which can contribute to a healthy marital

relationship.

The longitudinal, qualitative nature of this study allowed for a more comprehensive view

of the ways in which religious affiliation correlates with marital satisfaction. Looking at how

identifying with a religious community affects the couple’s willingness to engage in other

communities is something that would’ve been difficult to achieve with a different research

method. This evidence helps point to the importance of engaging in other relationships and

developing the self outside of the marriage.