Family Formation and Close Social Ties Within Religious Congregations

• Author: Benjamin T. Gurrentz
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12398
• Date: 01 August 2017
• Published date: 01 August 2017

B T. G Pennsylvania State University

Family Formation and Close Social Ties Within

Religious Congregations

The study of family and religion has yet to

elaborate on the social ties that connect these

two important and changing institutions. Specif-

ically, how does family formation (i.e., marriage

and childrearing) impact social ties to religious

communities? Using longitudinal data from the

Portraits of American Life Study (2006–2012)

and xed effects regression models that control

for time-stable heterogeneity (N=1,314), this

study tests the effects of marriage and child-

rearing on changes in close congregational

social ties. Fixed effects estimates suggest that

marriage actually decreases close social ties

to religious congregations, whereas rearing

children within marital unions increases them.

Thus, it is children, not marriage per se, that

actually integrates married couples into reli-

gious communities. These contrasting effects

tend to be the strongest among young adults,

but they weaken with age as well as marital

duration.

When individuals age and start to form families

of their own, the integration into social networks

becomes vital for family well-being. Becoming

a spouse or a parent entails a variety of new

roles and responsibilities, and supportive social

networks tend to provide guidance and may

buffer any potential stress as a result of newly

Department of Sociology & Criminology, The

Pennsylvania State University,211 Oswald Tower,

University Park, PA16802 (btg138@psu.edu).

Key Words: marital status, parenting, religion, social net-

works, social psychology (family).

experienced family transitions (Reid & Taylor,

2015). Indeed, for married couples, ties to sup-

portive social networks produce higher rates of

satisfaction, commitment, and stability through-

out one’s marital duration (Bryant & Conger,

1999). Likewise, parents embedded in shared

social networks tend to experience improve-

ments in parenting practices and parent–child

relationships (Widmer, Le Goff, Levy, Hammer,

& Kellerhals, 2006). Because social integration

provides greater access to social support and

improved family outcomes, it may become piv-

otal for new families to nd a supportive com-

munity as they navigate the intricacies of family

formation.

Congregations, and the social networks

embedded in them, provide one option for

families seeking social support. Religious

organizations often help connect fellow con-

gregants to one another (Edgell, 2005; Ellison

& George, 1994), providing potential ties to

like-minded individuals and access to important

family life advice. Congregational social ties

have been linked to improvements in health

(Krause, 2008), life satisfaction (Lim & Put-

nam, 2010), and general social support (Merino,

2014). According to Stolzenberg, Blair-Loy,and

Waite (1995, p. 99), the social support found

within congregations is particularly valuable for

“young adults facing the demands of launching

a marriage and rearing children.” In a modern

context, where younger adults are increasingly

using congregations as “social insurance” in

times of need (Wuthnow, 2007, p. 151), the

social support found in congregations may

attract younger families seeking additional help

because of the various stressors that accompany

Journal of Marriage and Family 79 (August 2017): 1125–1143 1125

DOI:10.1111/jomf.12398

1126 Journal of Marriage and Family

childrearing. Moreover, given the “pro-family”

message that congregations espouse (Edgell,

2005), congregations provide a viable option

for families to connect with others and increase

their social resources.

Nonetheless, our knowledge regarding family

formation and congregational social ties remains

limited by measures, methods, and theoretical

development. First, most studies on family

formation on religious outcomes examine either

religious attendance or afliation (see Chaves,

1991; Schleifer & Chaves, 2017; Stolzenberg

et al., 1995; Thornton, Axinn, & Hill, 1992), but

not social ties within congregations. Although

attendance and afliation are important out-

comes tied to improved well-being (Fenelon &

Danielsen, 2016; Stroope, 2012), they do not

always operate congruently with religious social

ties (e.g., Jewish adherents; see Lenski, 1961),

nor do they reap the same social benets as

close congregational ties (see Lim & Putnam,

2010; Putnam & Campbell, 2010). If one is

interested in social ties and their ability to foster

social support, one should actually measure

them rather than more distal measures, such

as attendance and afliation. Second, concerns

persist with regard to selection effects into mar-

riage, given how religious adults already have a

predisposition toward traditional family forma-

tion (Eggebeen & Dew, 2009; Ellison, Burdette,

& Glenn 2011). Although most studies nd that

family formation positively predicts religious

outcomes, such as attendance (Chaves, 1991;

Stolzenberg et al.,1995; Thorntonet al., 1992), a

recent study using advanced methods nds that

the marriage effect on religious attendance dis-

appears when accounting for selection (Schleifer

& Chaves, 2017). If this is true with regard to

religious attendance, then selection issues may

also confound inferences regarding close con-

gregational ties. Third, past studies have failed

to address the growing body of family literature

that suggests certain family formation events,

such as marriage, may actually lead to greater

social isolation, not integration (see Musick &

Bumpass, 2012; Sarkisian & Gerstel, 2008).

Given how spouses have increasingly relied on

one another for social support at the expense

of friends and voluntary associations since the

1980s (Finkel, Hui, Carswell, & Larson, 2014;

McPherson, Smith-Lovin, & Brashears, 2006),

one wonders whether the desire to establish

close congregational ties is relevant to many

married couples.

As a result of these aforementioned limita-

tions, the goal of this study is to examine whether

family formation impacts congregational social

ties using longitudinal egocentric network data

from the Portraits of American Life Study

(PALS, 2006–2012; http://thearda.com/pals/).

To limit selection concerns, I use xed effects

regression models, a within-person change score

approach that controls for all time-stable unob-

served heterogeneity. I separately test whether

marriage and childrearing integrate or isolate

individuals from close friendships within their

congregation. Moreover, I examine whether life

course effects, such as age and marital dura-

tion, moderate the impact of family formation on

close congregational relationships. In general, as

society experiences greater religious and family

diversity, such as increases in “None” afliates

(Chaves, 2011) and complex family structures

(Cherlin, 2010; Smock & Greenland, 2010),

a focus on social ties/relationships may help

reveal the complex micro processes connecting

these two important and changing institutions.

M: I  I

Marriage as Social Integration

In the family literature, there is a traditional

framework that views marriage as a benecial

and integrating life event. In general, marriage is

portrayed as an institution with mostly positive

social outcomes (for a review, see Nock, 2005).

Durkheim (1897/1951) argued that marriage,

particularly for men, helps promote social inte-

gration into communities and social networks

with like-minded individuals. Slater’s (1963)

classic study suggested that marriage oper-

ates as a solution for the natural inclination of

couples to withdraw from communities. Given

the extra close tie achieved through a marital

union, Fischer, Sollie, Sorell, and Green (1989)

suggested that marriage helps to expand and

strengthen social networks and that families

still rely on friends for social support in recent

times (Fischer, 2011) despite contrary views that

social ties are weakening (see Putnam, 2000).

Thus, this traditional paradigm suggests that

marriage operates as a benecial transition into

more social ties.

Marriage may also increase social ties in reli-

gious contexts through sanctication processes,

whereby family relationships become imbued

with sacred qualities and signicance (Mahoney,