Are there religious variations in domestic violence?

Religious variations in domestic violence remain understudied. Arguments ar e developed linking aspects of religious affiliation, practice, theology, a nd couples' religious (dis)similarities with domestic violence. These relat ionships are then examined via gender-specific models of data from the firs t wave of the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH-1). The auth ors find that regular attendance at religious services is inversely associa ted with self-reported perpetration of domestic violence for men and women. Denominational homogamy (i.e., same-faith vs, mixed-faith relationships) h as little bearing on the likelihood of abuse. Other forms of religious diss imilarity do appear to heighten the risk of abuse. In particular, men who h old much more conservative theological views than their partners are especi ally likely to perpetrate domestic violence. The implications of these and other findings are discussed, and several promising directions for further research are identified.