Volume 59, Issue 3 p. 439-454
Research Article

Religious Heterogamy and the Intergenerational Transmission of Religion in China

Brian L. McPhail

Corresponding Author

Brian L. McPhail

Department of Sociology, Purdue University

Correspondence should be addressed to Brian L. McPhail, Department of Sociology, Purdue University, 700 W. State St., West Lafayette, IN 47907-2059. E-mail: bmcphail@purdue.edu

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Fenggang Yang

Fenggang Yang

Department of Sociology, Purdue University

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First published: 18 July 2020
Citations: 4

Note: An earlier version of this article was presented at the 2018 Annual Meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion in Las Vegas, NV on October 26, 2018.

Acknowledgments: We sincerely thank Shawn Bauldry, J. Jill Suitor, the Editor, and the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and feedback.

Abstract

In Western societies, religious heterogamy and its effects on religious socialization outcomes have been interpreted through the lens of secularization. How about China, where religion has been resurging in recent decades? Using data from the 2007 Spiritual Life Survey of Chinese Residents, this study shows that despite China's atheist education system and strict religion policies, having at least one religiously affiliated parent is associated with increased religiosity compared to having two nonreligious parents. Whereas religious heterogamy in the West has a secularizing effect on the next generation, religious heterogamy in secular nations, such as China, has a religionizing effect and contributes to religion's rise.

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