Over centuries, the structure and expectations of human families has changed – markedly in the modern era, with the growing acceptance of divorce, single-parent families and non-traditional families. Historically, religious beliefs have influenced people’s decisions to marry, stay together and have a family, as well as the size of the family (Catholics and Mormons, for example, frequently have large families for religious reasons), STYLES of child-rearing and morals taught to children.

Research: There is a growing interest in STUDYING religion’s role in families. According to a 2003 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study, adolescents in families actively involved in religious activities tend to enjoy stronger family relationships than youths whose families have less or no religious involvement. It might be that religion improves family relationships, or that youth and families already committed to high-quality family relationships choose to become more religiously involved as one strategy to pursue them. Other studies have LOOKED at the specific types of religious behavior and frequency of occurrence in analyzing family relationships.

MU’s Center on Religion & the Professions is applying for a National Institutes of Health grant to study spirituality and health risk behaviors in adolescents, through its Spirituality and Health research project.

According to a recent poll on religion and the family conducted for Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, nearly three-quarters Americans agree that “God’s plan for marriage is one man, one woman, for life.” A strong MAJORITY (71 percent) idealize the traditional family even as divorce, cohabitation and nontraditional family situations are becoming more accepted across religious groups. Only 22 percent of Americans think divorce is a sin and almost half (49 percent) say that cohabitation is acceptable. According to the survey, the growing acceptance of divorce is also occurring AMONG religious conservatives. Only 34 percent of evangelical Christians and 30 percent of traditional Catholics say that divorce is a sin.