Carina Pawlak • 2024 McNair Summer Research Symposium • July 8, 2024

Carina Pawlak

Class of 2025

Majors: Criminology & Psychology

Mentor: Colton Daniels, PhD

St. Mary’s University

“Thy Will Be Done”: Exploring the Effects of Religious Salience on Intimate

Partner Violence

Religious beliefs bear a great significance on our lives, as they shape our personal belief systems

and affect our relationships with others. Religion has been found to have a positive correlation

with intimate partner violence (IPV), an increasingly prevalent issue when looking at male and

female relationships. The traditional values such as purity culture and male gender roles

associated with patriarchal societies and traditional religious beliefs may magnify the possibility

of IPV perpetration. The Bible may also be taken literally by Christianity and misinterpreted to

corroborate perpetrators’ abuse. In addition with the lack of proper IPV education and

prevention, religious communities may be contributing to the IPV statistics. Several studies show

that Christian leaders will encourage IPV victims to stay in their relationships due their unbelief

in divorce. This analysis used data from the Crime, Health, and Intimate Partner Problems

Survey (CHIPPS), a cross-sectional probability sample of St. Mary’s University undergraduate

students (n = 180) designed to analyze differences in partner violence and religion. The focal

variables asked participants a variety of examples in which it might be considered okay to hit

your partner and religiosity according to religious attendance and personal affiliation. A chi

square test was conducted between the variables and the results remain complex throughout. IPV

poses a daunting subject amidst the traditional values associated with religion. Future research

would be advised to consider variables such as socioeconomic and cultural factors and

differences between different denominations of Christianity when examining IPV.

Keywords: intimate partner violence, domestic violence, religion, Christianity, religious

salience, IPV, religious counseling, male gender role