Divorce and Religious Intermarriage: The Effect of Previous Marital Status upon Subsequent Marital Behavior

Abstract

The inclusion of information on the religious background of groom and bride on the marriage licenses of the states of Iowa and Indiana led to the observation that the proportion of religious intermarriages is considerably higher among remarriages than among both first marriages. A more detailed analysis of these data reveals that the effects of previous marital statuses are not uniform. Previous widowhood strongly encourages subsequent endogamy, while previous divorce leads to such a high level of subsequent intermarriage that it must be considered a leading factor in the formation of religious intermarriages.