Religious Influences on Work–Family Trade-Offs

Abstract

Despite a large body of research on the influences of religion on family life and gender ideology, few studies examined how religion affects work—family strategies. One set of strategies involves making employment or family trade-offs—strategies of devoting time or attention to either work or family in a situation in which one cannot devote the preferred amount of time and attention to both, strategies that may be experienced as making sacrifices, hard choices, or accommodations. Using 1996 General Social Survey data, the authors analyze how religion affects employment and family trade-offs. They develop hypotheses about the institutional effects of religious involvement and effects of involvement in a conservative religious subculture . They find that religious involvement and religious subculture shape trade-offs in gender-specific ways, and that religion affects more of men's trade-offs. They conclude by calling for further research on the social sources of cultural frameworks that shape men's and women's work—family strategies.