Religion is a major social institution in the United States. While the scientific community has experienced a resurgence in the idea that there are important linkages between religion and family life and religion and health outcomes, this area of study is still in its early stages of development, scattered across multiple disciplines, and of uneven quality. To date, no book has featured both reviews of the literature and new empirical findings that define this area for the present and set the agenda for the twenty-first century. Religion, Families, and Health fills this void by bringing together leading social scientists who provide a theoretically rich, methodologically rigorous, and exciting glimpse into a fascinating social institution that continues to be extremely important in the lives of Americans.
Introduction / Christopher G. Ellison and Robert A. Hummer
Religion and family life outcomes
Religion and the timing of first births in the United States / Lisa D. Pearce
Religion and child rearing / Duane F. Alwin and Jacob L. Felson
Religion and adolescent sexual behavior / Mark D. Regnerus
The influence of religion on ties between the generations / Valarie King
Religion and family values reconsidered : gender traditionalism among conservative protestants / John P. Bartkowski and Xiaohe Xu
From generation to generation : religious involvement and attitudes toward family and pro-family outcomes among U.S. Catholics / Amy M. Burdette and Teresa A. Sullivan
Religious intermarriage and conversion in the United States : patterns and changes over time / Linda J. Waite and Alisa C. Lewin
Childhood religious denomination and early adult asset accumulation / Lisa A. Keister
Religious affiliation and participation as determinants of women's educational attainment and wages / Evelyn Lehrer
Religion, family, and women's employment among Muslim and Christian Arab Americans / Jennan Ghazal Read
Religion and health outcomes
Religion and depressive symptoms in late life / Neal Krause
Religion and physical health among U.S. adults / Marc A. Musick and Meredith G.F. Worthen
Religious involvement and mortality risk among pre-retirement aged U.S. adults / Robert A. Hummer [and others]
Religious attendance and cause-specific mortality in the United States / Richard G. Rogers, Patrick M. Krueger, and Robert A. Hummer
Race, religious involvement, and health : the case of African Americans / Christopher G. Ellison [and others]
Jewish identity and self-reported health / Isaac W. Eberstein and Kathleen M. Heyman
Religion, sexually risky behavior, and reproductive health : the Mormon case / Tim B. Heaton
Religion and the new immigrants : impact on health behaviors and access to health care / Helen Rose Ebaugh
Looking ahead
The religious demography of the United States : dynamics of affiliation, participation, and belief / Darren E. Sherkat
Future directions in population-based research on religion, family life, and health in the United States / Christopher G. Ellison and Robert A. Hummer
