The old
adage “couples who pray together stay together” may be true, especially for
African-Americans, a new study shows.
The survey
of religion, race and relationships found that African-Americans attend church
more as couples compared to members of other racial and ethnic groups.
Four in 10
African-American respondents said they attended services regularly as a couple,
according to a study published in the August issue of the Journal of Marriage and
Family. In comparison, 31 percent of Mexicans or Mexican-Americans, and 29
percent of whites, said they regularly shared a pew.
“Without
prayer, black couples would be doing significantly worse than white couples,”
said W. Bradford Wilcox, a co-author of the study and the director of the
National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia. “The vitality of
African-Americans’ religious lives gives them an advantage over other Americans
when it comes to relationships. This advantage puts them on par with other
couples.”
In
addition to worshipping together, African-Americans were found to be more
likely than non-Hispanic whites to participate in prayer and Scripture studies
at home.
In
general, researchers found that people in same-faith relationships and partners
who attended services regularly were more satisfied with their relationship.
But
scholars said religion may not always help couples. Those with divergent
religious beliefs and worship attendance tend to not be as happy about their
relationships.
The study,
which was based on responses to the 2006 National Survey of Religion and Family
Life, does have limitations, scholars cautioned. For example, the responses to
the survey came from one partner’s report on the quality of their relationship
and the extent of their religious involvement.