Catholicism and cohabitation in Canada : a multi-religious assessment of Cornwall’s determinants of religious behavior model.

This paper examines the relationship between belief and behavior as seen in the association between Catholicism and cohabitation in Canada. It analyzes whether belief in the Catholic Church's teachings about sexuality and family life influences parishioners propensity not to cohabit to a greater extent than Protestant and secular (no religion) beliefs. Employing Cornwall's Determinants of Religious Behavior Model and data from the 2010 Canadian General Social Survey (Cycle 24: Time-Stress and Well-Being), it was expected that the results would indicate that belief in the Catholic Church's teachings about sexuality and family life influences parishioners propensity not to cohabit to a greater extent than beliefs in Protestant and secular (no religion) doctrines in Canada. That is, belief in the Catholic Church's teachings about sexuality and family life was expected to decrease the likelihood of cohabitation when compared with less resolute Protestant sects and secular (no religion) beliefs. The findings largely support Cornwall’s model, however no support was found for the expectation that Catholics would exhibit lower rates of cohabitation compared to Protestants and those who do not affiliate with a religion. ; Arts, Faculty of ; Sociology, Department of ; Graduate