Intergenerational Religious Influences and the Timing of First Marriage

Sarah R. Brauner-Otto, Mississippi State University
Lisa D. Pearce, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Throughout most of human experience the family has been one of the most important social units influencing attitudes, values, and behavior. In this paper we investigate how the timing of marriage is shaped by mothers’ and father’s religious beliefs, behaviors, and salience. Using data from the CVFS in Nepal, we examine the individual effects of fathers’ and mothers’ religious characteristics on the marriage behavior of sons and daughters separately, yielding detailed insight into intergenerational dynamics in the relationship between family religious life and marriage. Preliminary analyses show that fathers’ religiosity has a larger effect on children’s marriage timing than mothers’ religiosity. Furthermore, male children’s marriage timing appears to be more influenced by parental religiosity than female children’s marriage timing. Findings are likely attributable to gendered patterns of religious involvement and salience and the patriarchal organization of family life where father’s authority is strong and daughters have less say over the timing of their own marriages than sons.