The Nexus of Faith and Family Life
ABOUT THE PROJECT
The American Families of Faith Project is a national research project led by David C. Dollahite, PhD and Loren D. Marks, PhD, both professors of family life at Brigham Young University. Dr. Dollahite and Dr. Marks and a number of key collaborators have conducted in-depth interviews with about 300 married couples with children (about 700 individuals) from 33 states in all 8 regions of the United States including New England (MA, CT), the Northwest (OR, WA), the Pacific region (CA), the Mountain West (ID, UT), the Mid Atlantic (DE, MD, PA), the Midwest (OH, WI), and the Southern Crossroads region (KS, OK), and the South (FL, GA, LA). Over half the families are from various ethnic, national, and cultural minorities.
The sample includes around 30 couples/families from each of the following religious-ethnic groups: Asian Christian, Black Christian, Catholic & Orthodox Christian, Evangelical Christian, Hispanic Christian, Jewish, Latter-day Saint, Mainline Protestant, and Muslim. Most recently, we have interviewed about 30 Unaffiliated couples and 32 Interfaith couples and have begun publishing those findings.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The American Families of Faith project is supported by grants from Brigham Young University and from royalties from our books. We do not request funds from anyone. If you are contacted by anyone asking you to support us, it is not from us, and we urge you NOT to respond to them.
RELATED MEDIA
Why the American Families of Faith Project: Enriching & Strengthening Families
Attending Worship Services Builds Stronger Relationships
PRACTICAL IDEAS
Strengths in Diverse Families of Faith
This book explores how religious families draw on their spiritual beliefs, religious practices, and faith communities to help them strengthen their marital relationships and their parenting.
Using in-depth interviews from eight religious groups – Asian American Christian; Black Christian; Catholic and Orthodox Christian; Evangelical Christian; Jewish; Latter-day Saint; Mainline Protestant; and Muslim – the book uses the interviewees’ own words to show how their religion impacts their lives and influences their relationships. The book also includes an introductory chapter which describes the study and the sample; a conceptual chapter which places the empirical chapters in theoretical context in sociological study of religious families; and a concluding chapter which describes how the editors and authors developed respect and admiration for religious cultures other than their own.
Religion & Families
This is the first multidisciplinary text to address the growing scholarly connection between religion and family life. The latest literature from family studies, psychology, sociology, and religion is reviewed along with narratives drawn from interviews with 200 racially, religiously, and regionally diverse families which bring the concepts to life.
Written in a thought-provoking, accessible, and sometimes humorous style by two of the leading researchers in the field, the book reflects the authors’ firsthand experience in teaching today’s students about religion’s impact on families. Prior to writing the book, the authors read the sacred texts of many faiths, interviewed religious leaders, and attended religious services for a wide array of faiths. The result is an accurate and engaging account of why and how families are impacted by their religion. The pedagogical features of the text include boldfaced key terms defined in the glossary, text boxes, chapter conclusions, summary points, and review questions.