New research from the University of Utah finds Republicans have happier marriages than Democrats.
Nicholas Wolfinger is the author of the upcoming book Soulmates: Religion, Love, Sex and Marriage among African Americans and Latinos says his research finds Americans who are Republicans tend to have better marriages than Democrats. There are a couple of reasons for this.
"Republicans are more likely to be white, and whites tend to have happier marriages compared to African Americans," says Wolfinger. "Republicans tend to go to church more often to Democrats, and people who go to church on a regular basis tend to have happier marriages."
It's those two factors that account for the happiness gap. However, the difference in happiness levels between Republicans and Democrats is not a huge one.
"If you take a Democrat who is white and goes to church regularly, he or she is every bit as happy as a Republican."
Wolfinger stresses that his findings have little to do with political affiliation and more with race and church attendance.
"Those are factors that have long been known to be part of a happy marriage," he says.
