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9780195394221

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The social transformation of American family life over the last half century has produced complex and varied consequences in people's lives. Soul Mates closely examines those experiences among two important minority groups, contributing particular insight on the often-neglected question of how religion interacts with family structure to shape life outcomes. --Christian Smith, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Sociology, University of Notre Dame In Soul Mates, Wilcox and Wolfinger show that churches foster 'a code of decency' that has helped to modulate the impact of family breakdown for Latinos and African Americans while recognizing that religion does not fully protect churchgoers from the earthquake in the American family. Their important book should be of great interest to scholars of the family and to others concerned about family life among African Americans and Latinos. --Isabel Sawhill, Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution Soul Mates is an important and timely work. Wilcox and Wolfinger deftly synthesize data from many sources to argue that religious institutions, practices, and beliefs can strengthen marriages and families among African Americans and Latinos, thus countering the corrosive effects of racism and structural disadvantage. Rigorous and highly readable, this volume deserves careful attention from scholars, practitioners, and the wider public. --Christopher G. Ellison, Professor of Sociology and Dean's Distinguished Professor of Social Science, the University of Texas at San Antonio There's no question that marriage is floundering. Many people aren't sure there's still a benefit to being married. But this groundbreaking research by Bradford Wilcox and Nicholas Wolfinger shows what those of us who are regular churchgoers know: having faith can help you have a happy marriage. Nonetheless, their findings also indicate churches still have a lot to do to help reduce divorce among their members. One thing that is clear about the importance of this research: The more we know about what it takes to create healthy, happy marriages, the better our society will be. --Michelle Singletary, Washington Post Columnist

The social transformation of American family life over the last half century has produced complex and varied consequences in people's lives. Soul Mates closely examines those experiences among two important minority groups, contributing particular insight on the often-neglected question of how religion interacts with family structure to shape life outcomes. --Christian Smith, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Sociology, University of Notre Dame In Soul Mates, Wilcox and Wolfinger show that churches foster 'a code of decency' that has helped to modulate the impact of family breakdown for Latinos and African Americans while recognizing that religion does not fully protect churchgoers from the earthquake in the American family. Their important book should be of great interest to scholars of the family and to others concerned about family life among African Americans and Latinos. --Isabel Sawhill, Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution Soul Mates is an important and timely work. Wilcox and Wolfinger deftly synthesize data from many sources to argue that religious institutions, practices, and beliefs can strengthen marriages and families among African Americans and Latinos, thus countering the corrosive effects of racism and structural disadvantage. Rigorous and highly readable, this volume deserves careful attention from scholars, practitioners, and the wider public. --Christopher G. Ellison, Professor of Sociology and Dean's Distinguished Professor of Social Science, the University of Texas at San Antonio There's no question that marriage is floundering. Many people aren't sure there's still a benefit to being married. But this groundbreaking research by Bradford Wilcox and Nicholas Wolfinger shows what those of us who are regular churchgoers know: having faith can help you have a happy marriage. Nonetheless, their findings also indicate churches still have a lot to do to help reduce divorce among their members. One thing that is clear about the importance of this research: The more we know about what it takes to create healthy, happy marriages, the better our society will be. --Michelle Singletary, Washington Post Columnist The skillful use of large national data sets to weave a coherent narrative of two groups (Blacks and Latinos) is both compelling and easy to follow. Soul Mates never seems to downshift in rigor. The reports (whether qualitative or quantitative) have a feel of validity, accuracy, and authenticity that makes the participants come alive. This book will not only be on my shelf, it will be within reach on my academic desk, because of the wide array of useful data it contains. For scholars of family, and minority families in particular, this is a goldmine. -Loren Marks, Kathryn Norwood and Claude Fussell Alumni Professor of Child and Family Studies, Louisiana State University

The social transformation of American family life over the last half century has produced complex and varied consequences in people's lives. Soul Mates closely examines those experiences among two important minority groups, contributing particular insight on the often-neglected question of how religion interacts with family structure to shape life outcomes. --Christian Smith, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Sociology, University of Notre Dame In Soul Mates, Wilcox and Wolfinger show that churches foster 'a code of decency' that has helped to modulate the impact of family breakdown for Latinos and African Americans while recognizing that religion does not fully protect churchgoers from the earthquake in the American family. Their important book should be of great interest to scholars of the family and to others concerned about family life among African Americans and Latinos. --Isabel Sawhill, Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution Soul Mates is an important and timely work. Wilcox and Wolfinger deftly synthesize data from many sources to argue that religious institutions, practices, and beliefs can strengthen marriages and families among African Americans and Latinos, thus countering the corrosive effects of racism and structural disadvantage. Rigorous and highly readable, this volume deserves careful attention from scholars, practitioners, and the wider public. --Christopher G. Ellison, Professor of Sociology and Dean's Distinguished Professor of Social Science, the University of Texas at San Antonio

Author Information

W. Bradford Wilcox is Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia. He also serves as a senior fellow at the Institute for Family Studies and a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. Nicholas H. Wolfinger is Professor in the Department of Family and Consumer Studies and Adjunct Professor of Sociology at the University of Utah.

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