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We are very grateful to Michael Lawler, the Amelia and Emil Graff Professor of Catholic Theological Studies at Creighton University,Omaha, Nebraska, and Director of the university’s Center for Marriage and Family, for the following summary of the findings of a major piece of research undertaken by the Center. This follows on from earlier research (see Interchurch Families, 4, 2, Summer 1996, pp.10-11). It shows the need for marriage preparation and support that is more adapted to the needs of interchurch couples, for there are very many of them. The Center for Marriage and Family is currently working on marriage preparation and enrichment materials specifically designed with interchurch couples in mind: BRIDGE (Building Religious Interaction, Decision makinG, and Enrichment).
According to a recent national, ecumenical study conducted in the United States by the Center for Marriage and Family at Creighton University a significant number of couples (32%) are in interchurch relationships at the time of their engagement. "Interchurch" relationships are those in which each partner affiliates with a different Christian denomination, e.g. Roman Catholic, Methodist, Anglican. Such marriages are carefully distinguished from "interfaith" relationships, those in which each partner affiliates with a different religion, e.g. Christianity, Judaism, Islam. Findings of the study reflect the reality of marriages in contemporary society; couples are increasingly likely to ignore or cross denominational boundaries in their marriages. The positive relationship between religion and marriage has long been recognized by researchers, but how this relationship is experienced by interchurch and same-church couples, and what this implies in terms of church ministry to interchurch and same-church couples, has just begun to be explored.
Levels of religiosity
Level of religiousness or religiosity was a major focus of this study, and
it yielded two important insights. First, interchurch individuals had, on average,
lower levels of religiosity than same-church individuals on every measure of
religiosity: personal faith, personal church involvement, joint religious activity
of the spouses, sense of belonging to a church, strength of denominational identity,
religion as a strength in the marriage, and emphasis on religion in raising
children. Secondly, however, neither interchurch nor same-church comprised a
homogeneous group. There were interchurch individuals of high religiosity (15%)
and same-church individuals of high religiosity (40%), and interchurch and same-church
individuals of low religiosity. Those seeking to minister to both interchurch
and same-church couples need to take this heterogeneity into account. Not all
interchurch and not all same-church individuals are alike. As has been consistently
reported in previous research, women had higher average scores than men on several
religiosity measures.
Interchurch marriage does not cause divorce
Another major outcome of the study was the falsification of the common wisdom
that interchurch marriage causes divorce. Whether or not both partners belonged
to the same or different denominations was not related to marital stability.
What spouses did together religiously, whether or not they made religion a bonder
in their marriage by fashioning a joint religious life, and whether they managed
their differences, including their religious differences, were the major predictors
of marital stability. Marital stability was not related to the religious affiliation
of each partner. Less disagreement over children and their religious upbringing
were also associated with higher marital satisfaction and lower likelihood of
divorce. Divorce rates in the study, which included only those who claimed affiliation
with a Christians denomination, were dramatically lower (6-20%) than those reported
(40-60%) for all marriages in the United States.
Becoming same-church families
Almost 44% of individuals who were in interchurch relationships at engagement
eventually became same-church when one or both partners changed religious affiliation.
The main reasons for changing religious affiliation were marital or familial,
not denominational. People judged their marriage and family would be stronger
if both spouses belonged to the same denomination. This suggests that marriage
and family, not denomination, are primary concerns of interchurch couples. Individuals
who changed affiliation were more likely to report both increased church attendance
and stronger denominational identity.
Raising children in both churches
The study provides additional significant findings. The majority of interchurch
parents are raising their children exclusively in one parent’s church, but a
noteworthy 12% are raising their children in both parents’ churches. This is
a significant number, to which the churches might need to lend support in a
difficult enterprise.
Ministering to interchurch marriages
Interchurch individuals were also less satisfied with clergy than same-church
individuals, because they judge that clergy are not very aware of their specific
needs, are not sensitive to people of other denominations, and are not very
committed to helping interchurch couples. There is important information here
for clergy to ponder if they would minister fruitfully to interchurch marriages.
Interchurch individuals were also less likely to have had marriage preparation
through a church and less likely to have found marriage preparation helpful
than same-church individuals.
The findings of this study point ministers toward strategies to help interchurch couples, and all married couples, build successful marital and religious lives in the contemporary culture of divorce.
Michael G.Lawler
The 220-page report Ministry to Interchurch Marriages: a National Study (US$10 per copy) can be obtained through the web site: http://www.creighton.edu/MarriageandFamily/ , or an order with payment can be sent to the Center for Marriage and Family, Creighton University, 2500 California Plaza, Omaha, NE 68178. For costs to mail outside the USA, call (402)280-2908 or email
A 16-page Summary Report is also available.
Published by the Association of Interchurch Families
Return to Journal index
Vol 8.1.8-11
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