The Relationship Between Rightness, Religiosity, and Marital Satisfaction Among Christian Spouses in the United States

Marital satisfaction is paramount to a loving and long-lasting married life. The absence of marital satisfaction can lead to poor health, relational stress, and, eventually, divorce. This predictive, correlational study sought to research the relationship between the adoption of a position of rightness, the practice of extrinsic religiosity, and how these factors influence the levels of marital satisfaction among Christian spouses in the United States of America. The researcher used the Brief Version of the Religious Orientation Scale- Revised (ROS-R) to assess the level of intrinsic and extrinsic religious activity of the sample population. To measure the independent variable of their adherence to relational rightness, the researcher used the Revised Sense of Relational Entitlement the community (SRE-R). For the dependent variable of marital satisfaction, the researcher used the Locke-Wallace Marital Assessment Test (LWMAT). Three findings emerged from the study with practical implications for clergy, counselors, and couples: the theme of “false friends”, “religious amplification”, and “one size fits half”. The study concludes that an inflated sense of relational entitlement and extrinsic religiosity negatively impact the marital satisfaction of married Christian couples in the United States.