What Happened
Researchers analyzed National Longitudinal Survey data from 1997 to 2020, following women born between 1980-1984. Only 14% of women married before cohabiting or having children. Among women who married first, 51% attended religious services weekly and 49% belonged to conservative denominations like Baptist or Mormon. Women who cohabited first had much lower rates of weekly service attendance (20%) and conservative denomination membership (29%).
Why You Should Care
You probably shouldn't, but it's wild that researchers needed two decades and federal funding to confirm what every wedding planner already knew.
📚 The Basics
This story is about the order in which women do things like get married, move in with a partner, and have children. Some people get married before doing anything else. Others might live with their partner for years before getting married (this is called cohabitation). Still others might have children before either marrying or living with a partner. This study looks at whether religious beliefs are associated with which of these things comes first.
🧠 Look Smart At Dinner
Say This
The surprising part isn't that religious women marry first — it's that only 14% of all women do anymore, even the religious ones.
Context
Decades ago, most American women married without ever cohabiting, but now approximately 75% live with partners before marriage.
Avoid Saying
Don't say 'traditional values are making a comeback' — even among the most religious women, marriage-first is now the minority choice.
The Approved Opinion™
“It's important to understand how cultural and religious factors influence major life decisions in our diverse society.”
