The report, titled The Devout Difference: Religion, Marital Quality, and Sex Among Americans and published in September by the Institute for Family Studies (IFS), analyzes the relationship between religious practice and marital quality in the United States, with special attention to Catholics. It is signed by Rich Dell’Isola, Brad Wilcox, Grant Bailey and Jane Lankes Smith, and combines data from the General Social Survey with a survey of their own conducted in 2026 among married people aged 20 to 54.
According to its results, 79 % of Catholics who attend Mass at least two or three times a month describe themselves as very or extremely happy in their marriage, compared with 74 % of practicing Protestants and 66 % of those who profess no religion. Merely nominal Catholics show no significant advantage over non-believers, so the authors attribute the difference to practice rather than mere affiliation. Dell’Isola summarizes it in his commentary in the National Catholic Register: faith “must be believed and practiced.”
Indissolubility, the decisive factor
One of the variables with the greatest weight is the conviction that marriage is a lifelong bond. Spouses who fully endorse this conviction multiply their relative odds of declaring themselves happily married by 1.85, once age, sex, race and educational level are controlled for. The same conviction is associated with greater perceived stability and a more satisfying sex life: 69 % of married practicing Catholics have sex at least weekly, compared with 47 % of the non-religious.
The finding points to the Church’s constant teaching. The Code of Canon Law states in its canon 1056 that the essential properties of marriage are unity and indissolubility, which in Christian marriage acquire particular firmness by reason of the sacrament.
The decline, in figures
The report itself warns that only 39 % of practicing Catholics are completely in agreement with the permanence of the bond, below the 52 % of practicing Protestants. Practicing Catholics also perceive their marriage as less stable (63 %) than the non-religious (71 %), although they divorce less. The study also notes that one-quarter of married practicing men consume pornography at least once a month and that only 46 % of practicing Catholic fathers receive any help from their parish.
The context is one of retreat. Catholic weddings in the United States fell from 415,000 in 1970 to 109,000 in 2024, and weekly Mass attendance among those who identify as Catholic has dropped from 44 % in the 1970s to 18 % today.
The role of formation
The report devotes a section to alumni of FOCUS, the country’s largest Catholic campus ministry and sponsor of the study, a circumstance the IFS notes. 84 % of them defend indissolubility, and among those married ten years or less, 95 % perceive their marriage as stable, compared with 65 % of practicing Catholics overall. The authors acknowledge, however, that their advantage in marital happiness diminishes when statistical controls are applied.
Among its recommendations, the IFS calls for strengthening marriage preparation, youth and adult catechesis, and parish support for large families. The authors also admit that some of the differences may be due to selection effects, since Catholics who divorce are more likely to abandon practice.