Covenant Marriage and the Sanctification of Gendered Marital Roles

This study contributes to research on the deinstitutionalization of marriage and changing gender ideologies by focusing on a unique group of marriage innovators. With quantitative and qualitative data from the Marriage Matters project (1997-2004), this study used a symbolic interactionist perspectiv...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of family issues 2009-02, Vol.30 (2), p.147-178
Main Authors: Baker, Elizabeth H., Sanchez, Laura A., Nock, Steven L., Wright, James D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavior Standards
Belief & doubt
Comparative studies
Covenants
Egalitarianism
Ethics
Gender
Gender Issues
Ideology
Institutional Role
Longitudinal Studies
Marital Status
Marriage
Regression (Statistics)
Religious Factors
Sex Role
Sex Roles
Stigma
Subordination
Traditionalism
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Summary:This study contributes to research on the deinstitutionalization of marriage and changing gender ideologies by focusing on a unique group of marriage innovators. With quantitative and qualitative data from the Marriage Matters project (1997-2004), this study used a symbolic interactionist perspective to compare covenant- and standard-married couples. Findings reveal that covenants are more traditional than standards across religious, marital, and gender attitude indices. Qualitative analyses suggest that covenants see their marital status as a powerful symbol to publicly display their beliefs about the benefits and necessity of traditional religious marriage. Covenant-married couples defuse the stigma of gender subordination by casting it as a service to God and by crafting a hybrid form of gender traditionalism that incorporates emotional ethics of egalitarianism. Conversely, standard-married couples view gender, marriage, and religion as diffuse, privatized, individualized matters. Implications are discussed in light of further research on contemporary marriage and shifting gender roles.
ISSN:0192-513X
1552-5481
DOI:10.1177/0192513X08324109