Divorce Decision-Making and the Divine

Natasha K. Bell, Steven M. Harris, Sarah A. Crabtree, Sarah M. Allen, Kelly M. Roberts

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

Research on the role that religion and spirituality play in divorce is fairly limited and what has been published deals mostly with postdivorce adjustment. Very little research examines the role religion and spirituality play in the actual decision to divorce or stay married. We report the results of a content analysis of 30 qualitative interviews specifically focused on the intersection of religion, spirituality, and the divine and the role these play in the process of deciding whether or not to divorce. Almost half of those interviewed mentioned, without prompting, the role of spirituality in their divorce decision-making process. Themes identified across transcripts included (a) staying married is “morally right,” (b) the dilemma of religious beliefs, (c) heavily influenced by religious social network, and (d) religious practices inform the decision-making process.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)37-50
Number of pages14
JournalJournal of Divorce and Remarriage
Volume59
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2 2018

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Keywords

  • Decision-making
  • divine
  • divorce
  • qualitative research
  • religion
  • spirituality

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