Faithful Attraction [Hardcover]

Andrew M. Greeley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1991

A guide to marital happiness discusses the importance of money, what kind of sex matters most, children, and the working mother, and shows readers what happy marriages have in common. Reprint. AB.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Catholic priest, sociology professor (University of Arizona) and novelist ( Rite of Spring ), Greeley contends that despite conventional wisdom, much-touted alternative lifestyles, polls and media reports to the contrary, marriage is not only thriving, but fidelity is still practiced by a large majority of both sexes. The book, based on several national surveys conducted separately by Gallup and the University of Chicago, reveals that communication, character and shared values--including prayer--rank with sex (preferably combined with romance) in determining the happiness of married men and women of all ages, classes and regions. And while acknowledging the rising American divorce rate, Greeley, in an upbeat, optimistic work written with some humor, syggests that the degree of happiness of those who remain united is higher than it is for those who split.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 287 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; 1st edition (January 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031285109X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312851095
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,384,902 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Faithful Attraction, March 16, 2009

By 

Gerard Reed - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Faithful Attraction (Paperback)

Andrew Greeley (sociologist/priest/theologian/novelist as his interests dictate) churns out books about as rapidly as some of us put together lectures! I don't endorse all his theological work (which tilts toward the left of even modern Catholic intellectuals), nor do I approve all the notions championed in his novels (though I've found them readable and generally inoffensive), but I've usually found his sociological studies useful.
In Faithful Attraction: Discovering Intimacy, Love and Fidelity in American Marriage (NY: Tom Doherty Associates, c. 1991), he draws on the most trustworthy of recent public opinion polls to validate the soundness of marriage in America. "This is a report on fidelity and intimacy in American marriage based on the first national probability sample study ever attempted on love and intimacy among married Americans. The typical finding of the study, as hinted by the title, is that fidelity is common in American marriage, even epidemic. Indeed it might be called pandemic rather than epidemic" (p. 20).
Rather than relying on impressionistic, anecdotal, journalistic accounts, frequently erroneous popular opinion, or skewed "polls" like the oft-cited (and notoriously-flawed) Kinsey Report or more recent Hite Reports, Greeley grounds this study in a 1989-1990 Gallup Poll, "the first full-scale national probability sample study of sexuality and fidelity in marriage" (pp. 24-25) and another equally careful research endeavor. To the extent we can find accurate sociological data regarding the subject, Greeley provides it.
Given the largely negative press about marriage and family, evident in a 1987 Newsweek cover story which prodded Greeley's study, this work provides a healthy, encouraging antidote. For he argues--and provides the data needed--that marriages in this country remain solidly monogamous and strong (especially where religious faith exists) and provide couples maximal happiness in life. There's no ignoring the reality of divorce, which is not treated in this study, but among those who are married there is much to applaud.
Throughout the various items presented, one factor emerges: religion improves marriage. "Religion is by far the most powerful correlate of marriage attitudes and behavior we have yet discussed in this book. Although many journalists and social scientists assume that secularization is a demonstrated fact, there is no evidence to support this assumption in the United Sates. Moreover, there is no stronger predictor of marital happiness than religious devotion" (p. 221).
Spouses who share religious convictions "are 27 percentage points more likely to report agreement on general values," and, even more impressive, the percentage rises to 36 if they go to church each week (p. 55). Only 11% of those who pray together think divorce might be possible, compared to 30% of those who don't. Still more: "only 1% of those who pray together often and report the highest quality of sex think divorce is possible" (p. 63). "God and pleasure are, quite literally, a hard combination to beat" (p. 69).
Nearly one-third of the respondents regularly pray with their spouse. "Whether they pray often together or not is a very powerful correlate of marital happiness, the most powerful we have yet discovered. Seventy-five percent of those who pray say that the marriage is very happy, as opposed to 57% of those who do not pray so often" (p. 229). Still more: "Prayer, it is worth noting, is a much more powerful predictor of marital satisfaction than frequency of sexual intercourse--though the combination of sex and prayer correlates with very, very high levels of marital fulfillment" (p. 230).
Despite the generally up-beat tone of this tome, there are some discouraging words. Divorce continues to rip apart marriages and families--nearly one in every two of today's marriages seem destined to dissolve. Divorce leaves women, especially, impoverished and disadvantaged. In almost requiring that women work, modern society has placed considerable strain on those try to sustain both marriage and vocation. Greeley's study shows that today's working women are less happy than housewives of an earlier generation--but they are not less happy with marriage. What distresses them is a society which demands they work full-time as a career woman and still be a full-time mother.
Though there are certainly problems in the contemporary home, this book provides substantial reasons, especially for Christians, to face the future with confidence. Marriage and the family have survived and will survive. And it's nice to have some data to fuel our hopes.