What’s God Got to Do With It? Religion, Religiosity, and Union Formation among Women in Brazil

Paula Miranda-Ribeiro, CEDEPLAR, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil
Luciene Longo, Centro de Desenvolvimento e Planejamento Regional (CEDEPLAR)

This paper has two main objectives. The first is to determine whether religious affiliation and religiosity (measured by service attendance and maintenance of the same denomination over time) are correlated to union formation among women in Brazil. The second is to verify, among those in union, whether religious affiliation and religiosity are associated to the type of union (formal marriage or consensual union). Data come from the 2006 DHS. Binomial logistic regressions suggest that, comparing Catholics, Protestants, and Pentecostals, the latter are more likely to be in union. Among those in union, Catholics are more likely to be in a consensual union and attendance is positively correlated to the likelihood of being in such union. Among those who have switched religious affiliation over time, only attendance matters. Union formation in Brazil is related to religion and religiosity. Yet changes in denomination over time must also be taken into account.