Religion, Marriage Markets, and Assortative Mating in the United States

As interfaith marriage has become more common, religion is thought to be less important for sorting partners. However, prior studies on religious assortative mating use samples of prevailing marriages, which miss how local marriage markets shape both partner selection and marriage timing. Drawing on search theory and data from 8,699 young adults (ages 18-31) in the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1997, the author examined the association between the concentration of co-religionists in local marriage markets and marriage timing and partner selection using event history methods. Religious concentration is associated with higher odds of transitioning to marriage and religious homogamy (conditional on marriage) for women and men at older ages (24-31) but not at younger ages (18-23). The association was also stronger for non-Hispanic Whites compared to other race-ethnic groups. The findings indicate that religion remains relevant in sorting partners for many young adults in today's marriage market.