Loving God, Loving Others: The Sacred Among American Mainline Protestant Families

Abstract

Quantitative research suggests a link between religion and increased relationship commitment, satisfaction, and quality in marriages and parenting. Less is known about the processes and meaning-making experiences of religious individuals and families and how or why such processes exist and function with a family context. Using in-depth qualitative interviews, 20 Mainline Protestant families (N = 47 individuals; 20 mothers, 20 fathers, and 7 youth) were examined. Major findings revealed that intra-personal sanctification (i.e., sacred relationship with God) influenced inter-personal sanctification (i.e., sacred relationships with others), across three domains: general life strengths, as well as marital and parent-child strengths. Additional findings suggested that sacred beliefs and religious practices were utilized for receiving support from God, a framework of purpose, increased unity between spouses and parent–child dyads.