The role of religion in union formation: An economic perspective

This study examines the role of religion in two dimensions of women’s transition to first union: the timing of such transition, and whether it takes the form of marriage or cohabitation. Previous research has shown that religious affiliation has important effects on economic and demographic behavior: it has an influence on educational attainment (Chiswick 1988; Darnell and Sherkat 1997; Lehrer 1999a, 2004), attitudes toward premarital sex (Sweet and Bumpass 1990), fertility (Thornton 1979; Lehrer 1996a, 1996b), female employment (Lehrer 1995; Sherkat 2000) and the prevalence of divorce (Lehrer and Chiswick 1993; Teachman 2002). Based on this evidence, the present study develops hypotheses regarding patterns of entry into marriage and cohabitation for the main religious groups in the United States: mainline Protestants, conservative Protestants, Catholics, Mormons, Jews, and the unaffiliated.