Alysse ElHage | April 14, 2010 | SHARE: 
Are all family forms equal when it comes to the well being of children and adults? Not according to the latest social science data being compiled by researchers at the Family Research Council’s Mapping America Project. While we hear a lot today from the popular culture about the supposed “equality” of the different types of families that are becoming more common, the formula for raising healthy, happy children who grow into well-adjusted, productive adults remains the same—the intact family plus an active faith. Patrick Fagan, Ph.D., director of the Mapping America Project, puts it this way: “the intact married family that worships weekly is the greatest generator of human goods and social benefits.”
To measure the effects of family structure and religious attendance on both children and adults, Dr. Fagan and his team of researchers at the Mapping America Project analyze data from a number of large, mainly federal surveys, such as the General Social Surveys (GSS) and the National Survey of Children’s Health. What they have documented so far is that growing up with both biological parents in a family that attends church together regularly is linked to a wide array of positive life outcomes for both children and adults, ranging from personal happiness to various behaviors, such as decreased criminal involvement and drinking alcohol as adults. They have also shown that adults in intact marriages who worship regularly enjoy greater happiness, engage in more positive behaviors, and have more positive attitudes about marriage, childrearing, their work, and their fellow man, than married adults who do not worship regularly and/or adults who are divorced or separated.
In an effort to highlight the important results of this ongoing research, Family North Carolina will feature a regular segment dedicated to the Mapping America Project (MAP) in every issue. This issue, we focus on the latest MAP reports devoted to the positive effects of growing up in an intact family that worshipped regularly on adults, as well as the positive effects on adults of being married and attending religious services regularly. The following findings are excerpted from reports compiled by researchers at the Mapping America Project, except where otherwise noted. To download the full reports, go to www.mappingamericaproject.org.
Happiness: Adults who frequently attended religious services as adolescents and grew up living with both biological parents are most likely to be very happy. An analysis of data from the GSS found that 35 percent of adults who attended religious services at least monthly and lived in an intact family through adolescence considered themselves very happy, compared to 23 percent of adults who attended religious services less than monthly and lived in a non-intact family as adolescents.
Religious Worship: Growing up in an intact family that attended religious services at least once a month is linked to regular church attendance as adults. According to an analysis of the GSS:
Drinking Too Much Alcohol. Adults in always-intact marriages who attend religious services at least weekly are the least likely to report that they sometimes drink too much alcohol. According to the GSS, 24.7 percent of adults in always-intact marriages who attend religious services at least weekly have reported that they sometimes drink too much alcohol, followed by 31.6 percent of all other adults who worship at least weekly, 41.2 percent of adults in always-intact marriages who never attend worship, and 52.1 percent of all other adults who never attend religious services.
Adultery: Adults in always-intact marriages who worship at least weekly are the least likely of all to have had adulterous sexual relations. According to the GSS, adults in always-intact marriages who attend religious services at least weekly are the most likely to be faithful to their spouses, with an adultery rate of only 7.7 percent. By comparison, adults in always-intact marriages who never attend worship have a 15.3 percent rate of adultery, while among divorced or separated adults and married, previously-divorced adults, the rate is 23.3 percent for those who worship weekly, and 33.8 percent for those who never worship.
Criminal Behavior. Adults who frequently attended religious services as adolescents and grew up living with both biological parents are least likely to have ever been picked up or charged by the police. According to the GSS, 12 percent of adults who attended religious services at least monthly, and lived in an intact family through adolescence have ever been picked up or charged by police, compared to 21 percent of adults who attended religious services less than monthly and lived in a non-intact family as adolescents. In between were those who lived in an intact family but attended religious services less than monthly (13 percent) and those who had attended religious services at least monthly but lived in a non-intact family (16 percent).[vi]
Divorce/Separated: Adults who frequently attended religious services as adolescents and grew up living with both biological parents are least likely ever to be divorced or separated. According to the GSS, 17 percent of adults who attended religious services at least monthly and lived in an intact family through adolescence have ever been divorced or separated, compared to 27 percent of those who attended religious services less than monthly and lived in a non-intact family as adolescents. In between were those who attended religious services at least monthly but lived in a non-intact family (25 percent) and those who lived in an intact family but worshiped less than monthly (20 percent).
Smoking as Adults: Adults who frequently attended religious services as adolescents and grew up living with both biological parents are least likely to smoke.
According to the GSS, 31 percent of adults who attended religious services at least monthly and lived in an intact family through adolescence currently smoke, compared to 44 percent of those who attended religious services less than monthly and grew up in a non-intact family. In between were those who attended religious services at least monthly but lived in a non-intact family (42 percent) and those who grew up in an intact family but worshiped less than monthly (36 percent).
Pride in Work: Adults in always-intact marriages who also worship at least weekly are more likely than all other adults to be proud of the type of work they do. According to the GSS, adults who take the greatest pride in the type of work they do are found most (86.1 percent) among those in always-intact marriages who also worship at least weekly. The next largest percentage is all other adults who worship at least weekly (75.3 percent), followed by adults in always-intact marriages who never attend worship (71.7 percent) and all other adults who never attend religious services (64.2 percent).
Importance of Being Married. Adults in always-intact marriages who attend religious services at least weekly are the most likely to report that being married is personally very important to them. According to the GSS, 74.8 percent of adults in always-intact marriages who attend religious services at least weekly report that being married is either very important to them or one of the most important values they hold, followed by 73.2 percent of adults in always-intact marriages who never attend worship, 43.2 percent of all other adults who worship at least weekly, and 22.1 percent of all other adults who never attend religious services.
Importance of having children. Adults in always-intact marriages who attend religious services at least weekly are the most likely to believe in the importance of having their own children. According to the GSS, 75.6 percent of adults in always-intact marriages who attend religious services at least weekly believe in the importance of having their own children, followed by 66.9 percent of all other adults who worship at least weekly, 58.5 percent of adults in always-intact marriages who never attend worship, and 37.6 percent of all other adults who never attend religious services.
Belief that “People Try to Take Advantage of Others.” Adults in always-intact marriages who attend religious services at least weekly are the least likely to believe that most people try to take advantage of others. According to the GSS, 25.2 percent of adults in always-intact marriages who attend religious services at least weekly believe that, given the opportunity, most people try to take advantage of others, followed by 38.4 percent of all other adults who worship at least weekly, 39 percent of adults in always-intact marriages who never attend worship, and 46.8 percent of all other adults who never attend religious services.
