Joint religious practices and couple relationship quality in daily life: A strong relationality lens

Couples who engage in religious practices often report higher relationship quality, yet the processes linking such practices to relational outcomes remain unclear. Guided by the strong relationality model (SRM), we examined whether joint religious practices were associated with relationship satisfaction and relational connectivity through moral elevation and responsible actions. Study 1 analyzed cross-sectional dyadic data from 501 U.S. and Canadian couples (N = 1,002; ages 18-89 years, M = 46.29), and Study 2 analyzed a 7-day diary subsample of 116 couples (N = 232; 1,282 person days; ages 18-81 years, M = 45). Both studies excluded couples in which neither partner reported religiosity or joint religious practices, representing 18.5% of the Study 1 parent sample; included couples had shared and mixed religious affiliations. In Study 1, joint religious practices were indirectly associated with satisfaction (β = .24) and connectivity (β = .19), primarily through moral elevation and responsible actions (βs = .12-.17). Moral elevation was more strongly associated with satisfaction, whereas responsible actions were positively associated with both outcomes. In Study 2, on days couples engaged in more joint religious practices than usual, partners reported greater connectivity (β = .41) but lower satisfaction (β = -.11). Daily indirect associations were positive for both outcomes (βs = .07), primarily through responsible actions. Across studies, joint religious practices were linked with relational outcomes through responsible actions and moral elevation, although associations with satisfaction varied across timescales. Findings suggest that joint religious practices may support relationship functioning through responsible actions, while links with satisfaction are more complex. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).