{"id":8564,"date":"2021-12-16T12:00:37","date_gmt":"2021-12-16T17:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/%year%\/%monthnum%\/%day%\/white-evangelicals-more-likely-than-other-christians-to-say-people-should-prioritize-marriage-procreation\/"},"modified":"2025-04-23T23:56:15","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T03:56:15","slug":"white-evangelicals-more-likely-than-other-christians-to-say-people-should-prioritize-marriage-procreation","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2021\/12\/16\/white-evangelicals-more-likely-than-other-christians-to-say-people-should-prioritize-marriage-procreation\/","title":{"rendered":"White evangelicals more likely than other Christians to say people should prioritize marriage, procreation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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(Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Political differences among U.S. religious groups have been well documented<\/a> in recent decades. But disagreements among Americans across the religious spectrum extend to issues in the personal realm, too \u2013 including priorities in life and gender roles within the family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

White evangelical Protestants consistently hold more traditional views than others, including other Christians, on these questions. And people with no religious identity tend to have the most progressive stances, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, about a third of U.S. adults (34%) say that society is better off if people make it a priority to get married and have children, while almost twice as many (64%) feel that society is just as well off if people have priorities other than marriage and children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But opinions differ by religion. Among all Americans with a religious affiliation \u2013 whether Christian, Jewish, Muslim or something else \u2013 56% believe it is OK for society if people have priorities besides marriage and children, compared with 82% of those with no religion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

White evangelicals are the only religious subgroup analyzed in which a majority (56%) say that prioritizing marriage and having children is better for society; 41% say society is just as well off when people have other priorities. On average, evangelical Christians bear about the same number of children<\/a> as other Americans, and while they tend to marry at a younger<\/a> age than other U.S. adults, members of evangelical denominations on the whole are not necessarily more likely to be married than members of other Christian subgroups<\/a> \u2013 and they may have higher divorce rates<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

How we did this<\/div>