Psychology of Religion and Families 2nd Edition

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