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Title: Religion, Marriage Markets, and Assortative Mating in the United States

Citation Type: Journal Article

Publication Year: 2016

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Abstract: As interfaith marriage has become more common, religion is thought to be less important for sorting partners. Nevertheless, prior studies on religious assortative mating use samples of prevailing marriages, which miss how local marriage markets shape both partner selection and marriage timing. Drawing on search theory and data from 8,699 young adults (ages 1831 years) in the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1997, the author examined the association between the concentration of coreligionists in local marriage markets and marriage timing and partner selection using event history methods. Religious concentration is associated with higher odds of transitioning to marriage and religious homogamy (conditional on marriage) for women and men at older ages (2431 years) but not at younger ages (1823 years). The association was also stronger for non-Hispanic Whites when compared with other racial and ethnic groups. The findings indicate that religion remains relevant in sorting partners for many young adults in today's marriage market.

Url: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jomf.12353/full

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Authors: McClendon, David

Periodical (Full): Journal of Marriage and Family

Issue: 5

Volume: 78

Pages: 1399-1420

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Family and Marriage, Race and Ethnicity

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