Interfaith versus Intrafaith Marriage in Indiana

Indiana is one of two states requiring a statement of religious affiliation on its marriage registration forms. This study, the first to exploit the Indiana data, makes basic comparisons between' marriage groups having different interfaith-intrafaith combinations. Interfaith marriages, in contrast with the intrafaith, were found to be more by civil ceremony, to involve individuals who are members of religious minority groups, who have been previously married, who are older, who are in high-status occupations, and who reside in urban areas. An additional and more refined analysis, using record linkage, revealed the interfaith marriages also to be disproportionately high in premarital pregnancy and in subsequent divorce-though in regard to divorce the difference was slight, suggesting the need for further research to equate interfaith against intrafaith differences.