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Differing Politics, More Than Religion, Raises Issues for Potential Marriages

Insights| Faith & Culture | Mar 7, 2019

marriage wedding politics religion race
cindy baffour photo | Unsplash

By Aaron Earls

More Americans say they would be unhappy if their child married someone from a different political party, than someone from a different religious group.

A study from Public Religion Research Institute found 25 percent of American adults say they would be somewhat or very unhappy if their son or daughter married someone from a different faith.

Among Republicans, 35 percent say they would not like their child marrying a supporter of the Democratic party. Forty-five percent of Democrats say the same about their child marrying a supporter of the Republican party.

White evangelical Protestants are the religious group most likely to say they would be unhappy if their child married someone from a different faith (34 percent).

Other groups were far less likely to express disapproval: 18 percent of nonwhite Protestants, 11 percent of Catholics, 7 percent of white mainline Protestants, and 7 percent of religiously unaffiliated Americans.

White evangelicals are also the religious group most likely to say they would be unhappy if their child married a Democrat (29 percent) or someone from a different race (19 percent).

They are the least likely to say they would be unhappy if their child married a Republican (5 percent).

Overall, Americans are most likely to say they would be unhappy if their child married someone who identifies as transgender (45 percent) or someone of the same gender (37 percent).

Again, white evangelicals are the most likely to be unhappy with either of those scenarios.

Two-thirds (66 percent) would not be pleased with their child marrying someone of the same gender.

See also  Whether They Realize It or Not, Pastors Influence Young People on Politics

Fewer people from other religious groups say they would be unhappy: nonwhite Protestants (43 percent), Catholics (34 percent), white mainline Protestants (29 percent), and religiously unaffiliated (22 percent).

Three-quarters of white evangelicals (75 percent) would be unhappy if their child married someone who is transgender.

Fewer than half of nonwhite Protestants (46 percent), Catholics (41 percent), white mainline Protestant (41 percent), and religiously unaffiliated (31 percent) say they would disapprove of their child marrying someone who is transgender.

Aaron Earls

@WardrobeDoor

Aaron is the senior writer at Lifeway Research.

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