The role of the husband's religious affiliation in the economic and demographic behavior of families

Several recent studies suggest that in analyzing the effects of religion on the economic and demographic behavior of families, attention should be paid not only to the wife's affiliation but also to the husband's. The present paper synthesizes this research: it reviews the mechanisms through which differences between the spouses' affiliations influence marital stability, female employment, and fertility, as well as the empirical findings on these relationships. It also provides additional evidence on the linkage between the religious composition of unions and fertility behavior, based on data from the 1987-88 National Survey of Families and Households.