Religion, Infidelity, and Divorce: Reexamining the Effect of Religious Behavior on Divorce Among Long-Married Couples

Abstract

Previous scholarship linking marital infidelity and divorce has tended to have 2 limitations: focusing on young marriages and overlooking the influence of religiosity. Using data from the panel study of Marital Instability over the Life Course (N = 763), we address both of these limitations. Using structural equation modeling and proportional hazards modeling, we examine the effect of religiosity on marital infidelity and subsequent divorce among couples married for at least 12 years. Our analyses reveal that religiosity reduces the likelihood of marital infidelity among these couples. However the effect of religiosity on the likelihood of a subsequent divorce is more complicated: Religiosity appears to indirectly reduce the likelihood of a subsequent divorce by increasing levels of marital happiness. Surprisingly, no influence is found of marital infidelity on marital stability or divorce. Implications for scholars concerned with marital stability are discussed.