Interesting Christian Divorce Rate Statistics
- Posted on January 04, 2007
- Viewed 2024 timess
- (14) comments
58%, non-frequent Black Protestants
54%, non-frequent Evangelicals
51%, no religion (e.g., atheists & agnostics)
48%, ALL NON-CHRISTIANS
48%, non-frequent, other religions
47%, frequent Black Protestants
42%, non-frequent, mainline Protestants
41%, ALL CHRISTIANS
41%, non-frequent Catholics
39%, Jews
38%, frequent other religions
34%, frequent Evangelicals
32%, ALL FREQUENT CHRISTIANS
32%, frequent mainline Protestants
23%, frequent Catholics
I also analyzed data from previous years of the GSS and from five other national surveys, and they showed the same pattern: Christians, especially those who frequently attend church, have relatively low divorce rates.
This raises an interesting question: Why do so many people believe otherwise? It appears to stem from the work of George Barna. In well-publicized studies, he has compared divorce rates of “born again” Christians against non-Christians, and he finds little difference. Here’s the catch: his type of analysis labels as “non-Christian” many mainline Protestants, such as Presbyterians, Lutherans, and Episcopalians, and most Catholics. As such, he is comparing Christians against Christians. Ron Sider has publicized Barna’s statistics in his award winning Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience.
Some qualifications: The real question here is whether being Christian lessens divorce, and while the data above suggest “yes,” they can be interpreted otherwise. Perhaps people who get divorced also stop attending church. Perhaps those who attend church are also those who would stay married anyway. In addition, members of other religions also have low divorce rates. This should not be surprising since these other religions, such as Judaism, Mormonism, and Christian Science, have similar moral teachings about divorce.
What does this mean for Christians, especially pastors and other Christian leaders? The message is good news: Church efforts to keep marriages together appear to be effective. Also, perhaps the best thing for marriages is frequent church attendance.”
SOURCE: http://brewright.blogspot.com/2006/12/christian-divorce-rates.html
Bradley Wright has an interesting post on 'Christian divorce' over at his web log. Bradley writes... "Many people believe that Christian marriages end in divorce just as often as non-Christian, but it turns out, using the best data available, that this is not true. To illustrate, here are the divorce rates among ever-married respondents in the General Social Survey (GSS, 2000-2004)—one of the best known sources of sociological data. “Frequent” is attending church about once a week or more.
Comments
if you want a Globally Recognized Avatar (the images next to your profile) get them here. Once you sign up, your picture will displayed on any website that supports gravitars.
kent on Thu, January 04, 2007
I read this on his site, and it is nice to have someone who has access to the actual figures rather than the popular figures and who knows how to work them. it is good site.
Peter Hamm on Thu, January 04, 2007
Comparing Barna is good, because I’m becoming more and more convinced that his data and conclusions are more and more deeply flawed.
Adam McLane on Fri, January 05, 2007
I agree Peter. I don’t read or use Barna’s reports for that very reason. I’m not 100% sure what went wrong with his research methods but I find them to be entirely distant from reality.
Joe Myers on Fri, January 05, 2007
What’s funny is we think we gotta have this data or we gotta rearrange it to show it really isn’t that bad, when right in the midst of church we (friends and leadership) do not keep marriages accountable. For all the talk about “we care more than mainline churches and are changing the world” these continuing trends surely don’t show it. You don’t need statistics when you are a Christian responsible for what is going on right in your midst!!!
Rick on Mon, January 08, 2007
Mark Twain said that there were 3 kinds of lies: “...lies, damn lies, and statistics.” While they can be interesting, and occasionally illuminating, statistics should not be trusted, certainly not to the level of Scripture. While it is nice to have ammunition in the culture war, sometimes statistics are like arrows: easily reused by the enemy.
Teknerd on Tue, April 08, 2008
First of all, your figures you display show 41% of ALL Christians divorce. That may well be lower than the national average, but it is still pretty high. Also, you have no explanation as to why ‘attending church’ would do anything to help a couple stay together. I have been to several churches over the years and my experience has been that the typical modern church today cares more about its image and its bottom line than it does its flock. They also tend to shun people who are going through or already have gotten a divorce.
So, basically I think the reason your figures are ‘low’ for people attending church and not getting a divorce is because the people attending church stop attending after they divorce because they cannot stay at the church!
I think your viewpoint and your study is a bit skewed because you really want to believe in your heart Christian people are better than everyone else and believe me, that simply is NOT true!
Stevens johnson syndrome on Tue, December 23, 2008
I don’t think just on the basis of few bad or good people, the whole community can be judged.But if the ratio is so high in number of percentage, then i think it seems to be true.Anyway, it was a nice post.
Las Vegas Divorce Lawyer on Tue, December 23, 2008
These are some really interesting numbers.Is it really true, that people who regularly attend church have a lower chance of divorce.What has attending church got to do with a relationship truning bad or terrible?
divorce on Tue, January 20, 2009
ah, so god keeps you in check.
what i think hasnt been asked here is: of those who do not divorce, are they staying married b/c they are happy, or because they feel obligated to?
Or, does god make us happier? OR, does being less religous make us more selfish and more likely to divorce when we as individuals are unhappy?
Can we compare the happiness index to the divorce stats? now THAT would be interesting
RealChange on Thu, July 09, 2009
A “Genuine” born again experience includes death to self and a new life directed by, and empowered by God, the Holy Spirit. Though many claim to have experienced this transformation, I must question the accuracy of their understanding and the reality of their experience. When I was saved or “born again” I found that my God corrects me if I fail to love, respect and care for my wife. I expect that my marriage would have ended in disaster without the transformation of personal priorities and affections. Jesus taught that we should lay down our lives for one another. If we do not have both will and power to do that we have failed to appropriate what Jesus died and rose to give us. Both death to the natural life and power for the supernatural life are available to anyone willing to die to get it.
I know from painful divorce close to me that it only takes one to make a divorce. Full success in marriage requires three persons be committed to it, husband, wife and the living God are required to live the fullness of what is intended in the God-ordained institution of marriage. 32 years of marriage and counting on many more by God’s grace, help and power. Grace, peace, forgiveness and power are available to all that seek with all their heart. Don’t give up!
Teknerd on Thu, July 09, 2009
RealChange
Your just so full of it. It takes ‘one’ to make a divorce? Thats just STUPID. Every divorce situation is different, that is a pretty broad stroke to make. Also there is absolutely NO PROOF in the Bible that marriage is ‘god ordained’ another falsehood perpetuated by todays modern Christian church. The bible is chock full of examples of ‘godly’ men who had more than one wife. Sampson and King David were fricking adulterers for gods sake! So many inconsistencies to list… Your little speech is full of platitudes and smacks of one who is got their head so high in the clouds that they have no idea its actually up their own a—Get your nose out of the bible for one second and use the grey matter between your ears a bit. There are not three people involved in a marriage, there are actually many more than that if you count your family and friends. God could give a crap about marriages that fall apart, the divorce rate is 50% or more in our country, would any kind of loving God allow this? He has many more important things on his mind than individual lives, just look at what happens around the world and in your own neighborhood. Look how the world idolizes that punk MJ, child molester. Is god REALLY in control? Dont make me laugh… he is just sitting back letting us run the show if he even exists at all. Its so funny to see these Christians cling to their self loathing beliefs, once you leave the church you will see life for what it really is my friend, dog eat dog. Good luck to you.
video converter on Sun, August 02, 2009
Ok ! It’s very helpful to me!
Monroe on Fri, July 23, 2010
Thanks for the share, I accept been readin online all day and this was actully account reading. Thanks
trade homes
san Francisco divorce lawyer on Mon, June 13, 2011
Helpful data for analyzing divorce rate.
Page 1 of 1 pages
Post a Comment