The impact of religious conflict within orthodox Jewish families in Israel

Abstract

While prior research suggests that religion influences relationships positively, it may also be a source of conflict. This may be particularly relevant in religion-centric cultures and in families with individuating adolescent children. The current research analysed data from 789 orthodox Jewish couples residing throughout Israel and we hypothesised that religious conflict is related to lower family functioning and higher parenting stress, and that it is more frequent among couples with insecure attachment. Results of a structural equation model indicated that religious conflict was significantly associated with outcome variables within various religious subgroups, and that attachment insecurity was related to higher levels of conflict and was fully or partially mediated by religious conflict. This suggests that within the orthodox community, religious conflict is an important correlate, and perhaps cause, of family dysfunction. Future research exploring causality, cross-cultural relevance, comparability to other forms of conflict, and effective treatment appears warranted.

Keywords:

• conflict
• Jewish
• religion
• spirituality
• families
• adolescents