Marriage is usually a happy occasion. Unless, that is, your pride and joy is marrying an atheist.

Those are the findings of a new study by the Pew Research Center. According to the study, nearly half of all people (49 percent) would be unhappy if a son or daughter married an atheist, while just 4 percent would be pleased as punch. Perhaps not surprisingly, conservative Christians would be the most irked with an unbelieving son- or daughter-in-law. About three-quarters (73 percent) said they’d rather not have an atheist in the family.

On the flip side, about a third of Americans would be happy if someone in their family married a born-again Christian, while only 9 percent said they’d be unhappy. (Christianity Today)

Paul Asay has written for The Washington Post, Christianity Today, Beliefnet.com and The (Colorado Springs) Gazette. He writes about culture for PluggedIn and wrote the Batman book God on the Streets of Gotham (Tyndale). He recently collaborated with Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family, on his book The Good Dad. He lives in Colorado Springs with wife, Wendy, and his two children. Follow him on Twitter.