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Violence Against Women
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Race/Ethnicity, Religious Involvement, and Domestic Violence

Christopher G. Ellison

University of Texas at Austin

Jenny A. Trinitapoli

University of Texas at Austin

Kristin L. Anderson

Western Washington University

Byron R. Johnson

Baylor University

The authors explored the relationship between religious involvement and intimate partner violence by analyzing data from the first wave of the National Survey of Families and Households. They found that: (a) religious involvement is correlated with reduced levels of domestic violence; (b) levels of domestic violence vary by race/ethnicity; (c) the effects of religious involvement on domestic violence vary by race/ethnicity; and (d) religious involvement, specifically church attendance, protects against domestic violence, and this protective effect is stronger for African American men and women and for Hispanic men, groups that, for a variety of reasons, experience elevated risk for this type of violence.

Key Words: domestic violence • religion

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Violence Against Women, Vol. 13, No. 11, 1094-1112 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1077801207308259


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Violence Against Women, December 1, 2008; 14(12): 1359 - 1361.
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