A Brief Literature Review of the Nine Principles that Establish and Maintain Successful Families

Faith

Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is central to success in mortal life. It is a crucial aspect of successful family dynamics. However, the term faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is not used widely in empirical research. Thinking more broadly, exercising faith in Jesus Christ within the context of family relationships could include any intentional effort to apply the teachings of Jesus Christ within those relationships. To examine that empirically would be an extensive literature review and is beyond the scope of this course. The focus of this brief literature review will be on religiosity and religious practice in family life. Still, please remember that the exercise of faith in Jesus Christ goes beyond explicit religious practices, such as attending church, praying, and reading the scriptures.

Religious practice is related to various outcomes in family life, such as higher marital satisfaction (Homaei et al., 2016), stronger parent-child relationships (e.g .King, 2003), more positive child coping behaviors (Kim, 2008), and healthier adolescent behavior (e.g., Johnson et al., 2002; Koletić et al., 2021). For married couples, religiosity (such as religious attendance, religious practice, and religious commitment) has consistently been linked to greater marital satisfaction and stability (Pearce & Axinn, 1998; Weaver et al., 2002). Beyond general marital satisfaction, research has also discovered that religious commitment and practice have a positive impact on sexual satisfaction. For example, couples who worshiped weekly were more likely than those who did not to feel wanted and needed during intercourse (Fagan & Nagai, n.d.). In addition, marital sanctification, or the process of attributing divine meaning or importance to your marriage, was positively associated with sexual satisfaction in both wives and husbands (Dew et al., 2020). This process of divine attribution appears to have more than just sexual benefits. Ellison and Anderson (2001) found that couples who reported this type of divine attribution in their marriage were likely to perceive more benefits from marriage and collaborate better as a couple.

It is not just married couples who benefit from faithful religious practice. Children who grow up in a home with regular religious practice experience their own benefits. For instance, a child’s relationship with both his or her mother (Pearce & Axinn, 1998) and father (King, 2003) is enhanced with religious practice. This impact appears to carry on into adulthood, with children reporting more regular contact and higher quality relationships with their parents if they attended frequent religious services as children (King et al., 2013). Wilcox (2004) discovered that a father’s religious attendance had positive associations with his involvement with his children, which produced great potential benefits for his children. Specifically, a father’s religious attendance had a positive association with his volunteering for youth-related activities, spending one-on-one time with his children, and participating in family dinners. Furthermore, these fathers were more likely to praise and hug their children, monitor their behavior, and spend time with them (Wilcox, 2004).

There is an abundance of research that has examined the relationship between adolescent behaviors and religious practices. The two most common adolescent behaviors that have been examined in connection to religious practices have been drug use and sexual experiences. Regarding drug and alcohol use, a higher religious involvement has been consistently linked to a reduced likelihood of abusing alcohol or drugs (Free, 1994; Gartner et al., 1991; Hasin et al., 1985; Johnson et al., 2002). For sex, adolescents who engage in higher levels of religious faith tend to have a later sexual debut (first sexual experience) and a lower number of sexual partners (Koletić et al., 2021), less permissive attitudes toward sexual activity, and less sexual experience than those who do not attend religious services as frequently (Thornton & Camburn, 1989). It also appears that the influence of religious faith on the sexual behaviors of adolescents increases with the religiosity of the adolescent (Hayward, 2019).

While explicit religious practices do not contain all the ways one can exercise faith in Jesus Christ within the context of family life, the research is clear that wise religious commitment and practice can have a significant impact for good on individuals, relationships, and families. 

References

Dew, J. P., Uecker, J. E., & Willoughby, B. J. (2020). Joint religiosity and married couples’ sexual satisfaction. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 12(2), 201–212. https://doi.org/10.1037/rel0000243

Ellison, C. G., & Anderson, K. L. (2001). Religious Involvement and Domestic Violence Among U.S. Couples. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 40(2), 269–286. https://doi.org/10.1111/0021-8294.00055

Fagan, P. F., & Nagai, A. (n.d.). Feels Wanted, Needed During Sexual Intercourse. Retrieved May 3, 2024, from https://marri.us/feels-wanted-needed-during-sexual-intercourse/

Free, M. D. (1994). Religiosity, religious conservatism, bonds to school, and juvenile delinquency among three categories of drug users. Deviant Behavior, 15(2), 151–170. https://doi.org/10.1080/01639625.1994.9967965

Gartner, J., Larson, D. B., & Allen, G. D. (1991). Religious Commitment and Mental Health: A Review of the Empirical Literature. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 19(1), 6–25. https://doi.org/10.1177/009164719101900102

Hasin, D., Endicott, J., & Lewis, C. (1985). Alcohol and Drug Abuse in Patients With Affective Syndromes. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 26(3). https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-440X(85)90073-2

Hayward, G. M. (2019). Religiosity and Premarital Sexual Behaviors Among Adolescents: An Analysis of Functional Form. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 58(2), 439–458. https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12588

Homaei, R., Bozorgi, Z. D., Ghahfarokhi, M. S. M., & Hosseinpour, S. (2016). Relationship between Optimism, Religiosity and Self-Esteem with Marital Satisfaction and Life Satisfaction. International Education Studies, 9(6), 53. https://doi.org/10.5539/ies.v9n6p53

Johnson, B. R., Tompkins, R. B., & Webb, D. (2002). Objective hope. Philadelphia: Center for Research on Religion and Urban Civil Society. https://media4.manhattan-institute.org/pdf/crrucs_objective_hope.pdf

Kim, J. (2008, July). The protective effects of religiosity on maladjustment among maltreated and nonmaltreated children—ScienceDirect. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2007.09.011

King, V. (2003). The Influence of Religion on Fathers’ Relationships with Their Children. Journal of Marriage and Family, 65(2), 382–395. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2003.00382.x

King, V., Ledwell, M., & Pearce-Morris, J. (2013, August 12). Religion and Ties Between Adult Children and Their Parents—PMC. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbt070

Koletić, G., Landripet, I., Tafro, A., Jurković, L., Milas, G., & Štulhofer, A. (2021). Religious faith and sexual risk taking among adolescents and emerging adults: A meta-analytic review. Social Science & Medicine, 291, 114488. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114488

Pearce, L. D., & Axinn, W. G. (1998). The Impact of Family Religious Life on the Quality of Mother-Child Relations. American Sociological Review, 63(6), 810–828. https://doi.org/10.2307/2657503

Thornton, A., & Camburn, D. (1989). Religious Participation and Adolescent Sexual Behavior and Attitudes. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 51(3), 641. https://doi.org/10.2307/352164

Weaver, A. J., Samford, J. A., Morgan, V. J., Larson, D. B., Koenig, H. G., & Flannelly, K. J. (2002). A Systematic Review of Research on Religion in Six Primary Marriage and Family Journals: 1995-1999. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 30(4), 293–309. https://doi.org/10.1080/01926180290033448

Wilcox, W. B. (2004). Soft Patriarchs, New Men: How Christianity Shapes Fathers and Husbands. University of Chicago Press. https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/S/bo3623927.html