Faith, Race-Ethnicity, and Public Policy Preferences: Religious Schemas and Abortion Attitudes among U.S. Latinos

Research has demonstrated that white conservative Protestants are more opposed to abortion than their Catholic counterparts. At the same time, conservative Protestantism has made significant inroads among U.S. Latinos. This study augments existing research on religion and racial-ethnic variations in abortion attitudes by comparing levels of support for legalized abortion among Catholic and conservative Protestant Latinos. Data are drawn from a nationally representative sample of U.S. Latinos. Significantly greater opposition to abortion is found among religiously devout conservative Protestant Latinos when compared with their Catholic counterparts. Latino Catholicism, which functions as a near-monopolistic, highly institutionalized faith tradition among Hispanics, produces weaker antiabortion attitudes than those exhibited in Latino conservative Protestantism. Among Latinos, conservative Protestantism operates as a niche voluntaristic faith. These factors produce a religious schema that yields robust antiabortion attitudes. This study has important implications for understanding the intersection of race-ethnicity, religion, and public policy preferences

Faith, Family and Teen Dating: Examining the Effects of Personal and Household Religiosity on Adolescent Romantic Relationships

Dating continues to be a key point of transition into American adolescence for many teens. Yet, despite a growing research literature on romantic relationships and dating in adolescence, little attention has been paid to the impact of religion on teen dating. This study examines how various forms of personal religiosity and the family\u27s religious environment influence dating. Using data from the National Study of Youth and Religion, we explore the effects of religion on dating involvement (total number of partners dated), and partner selection (number of interfaith versus same-faith dating relationships). Significant religious effects surface for both dating involvement and partner selection, underscoring the need to examine more closely the influence of religion on the lives of American teens

The Benefits from Marriage and Religion in the United States: A Comparative Analysis

In the United States, married people have better outcomes on a variety of measures of wellbeing than do single persons. People who participate in religious activities show similar advantages relative to those who have no religious involvement. This article présents a comparative analysis of these two social institutions: marriage and religion. A critical review of the literature on how religious involvement and being married affect a range of child and adult outcomes provides evidence of generally positive effects. Religion and marriage have an impact on many of the same domains of life, and there are remarkable similarities in the mechanisms through which they exert an influence. Copyright 2003 by The Population Council, Inc..