Thursday, July 11, 2002
Marriage odds increases for churchgoers
A story released today by the United Press International reports that a study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania shows that frequent church attendance can raise the odds of marriage for urban women.
Researchers analyzed a survey of 3,886 married and unmarried mothers. They found urban mothers who attend church regularly are twice as likely to be married at the time they give birth, compared to urban mothers who do not attend church frequently. Urban mothers who have a non-marital birth are 90 percent more likely to marry within a year if they attend church frequently, compared to non-churchgoers.
The trend is particularly strong among African American women, the researchers said, but noted the study showed church attendance is no guarantee of marriage.
"One of the more surprising findings in the report is that one-third of all unwed, urban mothers are frequent churchgoers," researchers said. "This means that many unmarried mothers are more integrated into the social fabric of their communities than we once thought."
