Posted on 08/01/2010 12:24:10 PM PDT by geraldmcg
A recent study released by the Barna Group—a leading research company focused on the intersection of faith and culture—has been the spark plug for a surge of editorials around the country because of the study’s eye-opening, statistical revelations regarding Christianity and divorce.
Among the findings, divorce rates among conservative Christians are not only counter to Christian ideals, they are significantly higher than that of other faith groups, including atheists and agnostics.
George Barna, the director of the study observed, “There no longer seems to be much of a stigma attached to divorce. (Instead), it is now seen as an unavoidable rite of passage. Interviews with young adults suggest that they want their initial marriage to last, but are not particularly optimistic about that possibility.”
Offering a unique insight into the depths of modern-day Christian marriages is minister and author, Rodney Winters, who’s new book, Go Into the House, much like the Barna study, has Christians talking.
Winters explores a wide range of marital mysteries among Christians, particularly when held up against the chasm between the sexes.
Why do Christian men choose to commit adultery? Why don’t men share their fears and emotions with women? Why do women want and need to hear the man’s perspective on “when a wife cheats”?
Further, Winters writes about the other side of Christian marriage, when a spouse is facing the aftermath of divorce. Barna pointed out in his company’s report that, “(our) research also raises questions regarding the effectiveness of how churches minister to families. The ultimate responsibility for a marriage belongs to the husband and wife, but the high incidence of divorce within the Christian community challenges the idea that churches provide truly practical and life-changing support for marriages.”
I wonder if whether or not a lot of these divorcing couples are more worried about appearances than being a real family.
yes it would.
if (these in fact are) christians are more likely to marry then there is a larger pool of potential divorces.
note this does not include other religions.
Self-identified atheists and agnostics (not a big group to begin with) have much more education and (I’d guess) higher incomes and older average marriage ages. These factors have a very strong negative correlation to divorce. If you controlled for them I’d be surprised to find atheists or agnostics divorcing less frequently.
YOu hit the statistical nail on the head.
Christians marry more and they are a much, much larger group than are atheists and so the comparison is just the usual atheist “scientific” smear.
However, the divorce rate among Christian families is troubling and should be studied and addressed by Christian leaders. Many Christian Americans and church leaders are participating in the garbage culture without discernment, and self direction/control. There does not seem to be as much critical thinking as our cultural roots would suggest. Many Christian communities also do not bond with and look out for each other as we should. Without bonding, there is no loyality or respect - no community.
We should look to the Jews and Muslims for an example of Christian bonding. In our country, there should never be an intance of civil rights violation w/o serious consequence like there is now. There should not be joblessness among Christians and we are wealthy and connected enough to help our own community of kids with life guidance, opportunity and encouragement.
I love him more than I did the day we were married. He is not just my beloved husband, he is the protector of our house and the father of our children.
Maybe because Christian kids get married before they’re ready so they can have sex, because they are taught that they shouldn’t have sex before marriage.
“if (these in fact are) christians are more likely to marry then there is a larger pool of potential divorces.”
And what is your source for that data?
This is not surprising at all. The Christian church has generally been tolerant of divorce and re-marriage for several decades now. However, few churches have accepted the practice of unmarried cohabitation. Practicing Christians therefore have strong social motivation to get married and average penalties for divorce. Non-Christians have much weaker incentives to get married in the first place and no less penalty for divorce.
I went to a Christian college where a lot of students end up marrying each other, young. The divorce rate for those marriages is pretty high, which frankly is not that surprising. A lot of the students I knew were under a great deal of pressure, both from families and peers, to marry early and start a family. While it’s good that Christians uphold marriage as an ideal, I’ve seen it foisted too many times on people who are not ready for it.
The numerator and denominator in the “Christian” ratio are exaggerated for multitudes offered comfort by pastors of many mainline churches, of “Seeker Friendly” churches and those in the “Emerging Church Movement”. Their successful (?) churches promote a gospel of Christian traditions developed from the spiritual source of Jesus Christ. By focusing on” treasures of the Christian tradition” and not the treasure of Christian faith, they promote relationship with people based on them finding areas of compatibility with the missions of organizations they value, such as Rotary, Peace Corp, Sierra Club, Toastmasters, Masons, etc. Within the congregation relationships achieve a steady state where ‘treasures of the Christian tradition” merge with treasures of other religious and philosophical traditions, and amalgam the results into achievement of their desired ambitions.
The object of church growth becomes adding the church website to a person’s list of favorites on Internet Explorer, along with Oprah, Dr. Phil and PBS. Attending church to establish linkages to secular actions and concepts allows people to further sanctify themselves by including Christianity within their lives.
This church leadership must at no point allow disruption of those linkages, which occur when congregation members undergo the stress of encountering the Lord God in all His Majesty as Job and Moses did in the Old Testament, or as Paul, John and Peter did in The New Testament.
Those who persist in seeking relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ are less likely to have failed marriages.
They read crappy blogs like this and it drives them nuts.
You eat with that mouth? There was a time when such language would have gotten you at least a timeout if not banned.
In truth, the rate of divorce is typically correlated with education moreso than belief in Jesus, Mohammed, or Zoroaster. Those with graduate degrees are far less likely to divorce than those with merely a high school diploma.
“The raw numbers wouldn’t, but if Christians feel more of a duty to marry in the first place, their rate of marriage will be higher than those who are content to “live in sin.””
When we got married 52 years ago there was no such thing as “living together”.
The last time either of us or anyone else in both of our families have been in a church was the day we got married except for my working on them under contract.
“those who oppose the new world leader and do not take his mark upon them or worship his image will have their heads cut off”
There will be a lot of bullet filled sword wielders before they chop off mine!
You ought to hear me in real life - it appears, however, I’m not the only one who’s bad manners have been noted.
PS - I’ve also got a problem with being called a White Supremacist.
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