"The Compass of Our Life": A Qualitative Study of Marriage and Faith Among Chinese Immigrants

Keywords

Chinese immigrant families, marriage, qualitative methods, religious faith

Abstract

Twenty highly religious Chinese Christian married couples (n = 40) were interviewed to examine how religious faith influenced their perceptions of marriage and family life. Most participants held advanced graduate degrees (14 PhD and 13 MS degrees). Their ages ranged from 28 to 66, and the number of children ranged from one to four. Grounded theory methods (including open coding and axial coding) were applied to analyze the data. Based on the interview data three emergent themes were identified: (1) Moving from atheism to theism (“God is love”), (2) changing perceptions of marriage (“Marriage is established by God”), and (3) a new priority (“Put God first”). Supporting qualitative data are presented in connection with each theme. Implications for research and practice related to Chinese immigrants’ marriage and family in the United States are discussed.

Original Publication Citation

*Lu, Y., Marks, L. D., & Baumgartner, J. (2011). “The compass of our life”: A qualitative study of marriage and faith among Chinese immigrants. Marriage & Family Review, 47, 125-148.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2011-05-03

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/7687

Publisher

Marriage & Family Review

Language

English

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Family Life

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

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