The role of commitment in the relationship between religion and marital satisfaction

• Main Author: Ashonibare, Priscilla E.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2017
• Subjects: Marriage > Philippines; Married people > Religious life > Philippines; Counseling Psychology; Religion
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_doctoral/564
• Institution: De La Salle University

This research looked into the influence of martial commitment in the relationship between religion and marital satisfaction. Inspired by Mahoneys relational spirituality framework, religion was defined as having four components namely sanctification of marriage, spiritual intimacy, partner focused petition prayer, and religious coping. Using a sequential exploratory mixed method research design, 208 participants completed questionnaires related to the variables in order to test the models being proposed. This was followed by an interview with 20 married individuals to understand better the relationship of religion, commitment and marital satisfaction. Results reveal that overall, marital commitment indeed plays a significant role in the relationship between the different components of religion and marital satisfaction. The themes of relational virtue, positive interaction, sanctity of marriage, marital outcome, and spiritual dissonance emerged as possible explanations for this relationship. The findings were discussed in light of how counseling may be designed to address the importance of marital commitment in maintaining marital satisfaction, particularly in a religious culture like the Philippines.