Fifty Percent of All Marriages End in Divorce’ and Other Myths

momi

Well-Known Member
Please read!!! This is what I've suspected for quite some time. There is a difference between a professed believer and a practicing Christian! Praise God there is hope - do not be discouraged!


“Fifty percent of all marriages end in divorce,” right? Not so fast. Author and social researcher Shaunti Feldhahn is trying to change the way we talk about marriage and divorce: “There is no such thing as a 50 percent divorce rate. It’s never been close,” she told The Blaze. “Right now … 72 percent of people are still married to their first spouse — that’s Census Bureau data.” She explained her analysis of the marriage data to The Blaze:

And of the 28 percent who are no longer married to their first spouse, Feldhahn said that a good chunk of those people were married when their husband or wife died and were never actually divorced. So, theoretically, the divorce rate must fall somewhere below the 28 percent mark.
What about this statement? “Church-going couples divorce as frequently those who never darken the church doors on Sunday mornings.” Is that one correct? Not according to Feldhahan:

When comparing Christians to the general population, Feldhahn said that asking the question nominally presented some problems. For instance, if someone says they are a Christian, it doesn’t necessarily mean that person is a practicing believer. So, Feldhahn partnered with Barna and re-ran their data to focus in on church attendance in the past week — one of the clearest indicators of how deeply one practices his or her faith. While the divorce rate was similar for nominal Christians and the general public, she found something profound among practicing believers. “The divorce rate dropped by 27 percent between those who went to church last week,” Feldhahn said. “The theory is that attendance in other worship faiths would have a similar impact — being part of a community where people are around you will notice when something is going wrong.”
Feldhahn, who researched this topic for eight years for her new book “The Good News about Marriage,” says everything we’ve been told about marriage is wrong. Why is this important when it’s obvious marriages are seriously under attack from a culture trying to undermine the principles on which they are founded? Feldhahn believes the excessive pessimism breeds more failed marriages. “One of the biggest patterns that I’ve seen over the years as a social researcher is that there’s one common denominator about whether marriage survives or fails,” she told TheBlaze. “If a couple thinks they’re going to make it, they generally do. The outcome is very different if they think, ‘This is never going to change. We’re never going to make it.’” In other words, we should take care to speak accurately about the state of marriage today to make sure we aren’t inadvertently making things worse.



http://www.nationalreview.com/home-...ages-end-divorce-and-other-myths-nancy-french
 
I'll give my perspective on that data. Christians absolutely do get separations, divorces, etc. Depending on the majority of churches they gathered info from, the stages of the process will differ. In our church, it takes a few years to make a total break because you will need an annulment in order to remarry. Are these nominal christians? Absolutely not. Women have been given the option of no-fault divorce in the legal system and they take advantage of it rather than stay in something that is harming them emotionally or physically. They are no less a christian (or males) because they chose to make a break with an impossible spouse. Our church has mercy on them and doesn't relegate them to a life of celibacy forever. They can remarry and that's humane.

As for the first part mentioned, about those I'm suspecting to be in the annulment process or separated for a long time before the a separation is final, they are still somewhat "divorced." A divorce begins when a marriage tie is broken and we have scripture for that. So, if they wish to get more technical, they should look at all of that and see it in a different light. If you are not living with your spouse for years on end but legally are still married, what's the difference? Just a stat.
 
Hmm... It all depend on how you look at statistics. Just because someone is married today does not mean they will be married tomorrow. I don't know if 50% of marriages will end in divorce but this study did not provide any insight to make me believe otherwise.

I don't know about other religion but I remember the divorce rate for Catholics is twenty something person. And that stat was from the same article about the 50% divorce rate.
 
Please read!!! This is what I've suspected for quite some time. There is a difference between a professed believer and a practicing Christian! Praise God there is hope - do not be discouraged!


“Fifty percent of all marriages end in divorce,” right? Not so fast. Author and social researcher Shaunti Feldhahn is trying to change the way we talk about marriage and divorce: “There is no such thing as a 50 percent divorce rate. It’s never been close,” she told The Blaze. “Right now … 72 percent of people are still married to their first spouse — that’s Census Bureau data.” She explained her analysis of the marriage data to The Blaze:

And of the 28 percent who are no longer married to their first spouse, Feldhahn said that a good chunk of those people were married when their husband or wife died and were never actually divorced. So, theoretically, the divorce rate must fall somewhere below the 28 percent mark.
What about this statement? “Church-going couples divorce as frequently those who never darken the church doors on Sunday mornings.” Is that one correct? Not according to Feldhahan:

When comparing Christians to the general population, Feldhahn said that asking the question nominally presented some problems.

For instance, if someone says they are a Christian, it doesn’t necessarily mean that person is a practicing believer.

So, Feldhahn partnered with Barna and re-ran their data to focus in on church attendance in the past week — one of the clearest indicators of how deeply one practices his or her faith. While the divorce rate was similar for nominal Christians and the general public, she found something profound among practicing believers. “The divorce rate dropped by 27 percent between those who went to church last week,” Feldhahn said. “The theory is that attendance in other worship faiths would have a similar impact — being part of a community where people are around you will notice when something is going wrong.”

Feldhahn, who researched this topic for eight years for her new book “The Good News about Marriage,” says everything we’ve been told about marriage is wrong. Why is this important when it’s obvious marriages are seriously under attack from a culture trying to undermine the principles on which they are founded? Feldhahn believes the excessive pessimism breeds more failed marriages.

“One of the biggest patterns that I’ve seen over the years as a social researcher is that there’s one common denominator about whether marriage survives or fails,” she told TheBlaze. “If a couple thinks they’re going to make it, they generally do.

The outcome is very different if they think, ‘This is never going to change. We’re never going to make it.’” In other words, we should take care to speak accurately about the state of marriage today to make sure we aren’t inadvertently making things worse
.



http://www.nationalreview.com/home-...ages-end-divorce-and-other-myths-nancy-french

While the divorce rate is higher now than my parents and grandparents generation, I have to agree with the article above. The rates have been miscalculated. In the Body of Christ, there are more marriages that work than those that do not.
 
The technical rates have been miscalculated because they are counting couples who are separated until death, thereby still presenting the technical stat of them being married. But they were separated and for years until death did someone part. Shrugs. :look: Maybe they should consider such separations as a form of "divorce?" BTW, I'm in the latter so I'm not denying it. But using the stat that way just to justify it is a tad lower than the secular world when they were spiritually separated? I don't get it.
 
I listened to a podcast called freakonomics and secular economists were discussing marriage statistics. They said divorce rates peaked around 1970 and have been dropping steadily since then. They said the rate of divorce for first time marriages now is about 20-30%

They attributed the decline to more freedom in terms of marriages. In the 50s it was a staple of life. It was socially and morally required. If you wanted sex you got married. If you were a woman you did not want to end up pregnant alone. But now you get married because you want to, not because you have to. They also said a lot of the divorces in the 70s were from couples married at a time when women did not have a lot of freedom, including in reproduction. Once the pill came around in the 60s and after that women were able to accomplish more and more, many women who had married earlier came into their own and decided that lifestyle was no longer for them.

It was very interesting. If you want to listen look for freakonomics in the Apple iTunes podcasts and search for the two part episode called "Why marry?"
 
I listened to a podcast called freakonomics and secular economists were discussing marriage statistics. They said divorce rates peaked around 1970 and have been dropping steadily since then. They said the rate of divorce for first time marriages now is about 20-30%

They attributed the decline to more freedom in terms of marriages. In the 50s it was a staple of life. It was socially and morally required. If you wanted sex you got married. If you were a woman you did not want to end up pregnant alone. But now you get married because you want to, not because you have to. They also said a lot of the divorces in the 70s were from couples married at a time when women did not have a lot of freedom, including in reproduction. Once the pill came around in the 60s and after that women were able to accomplish more and more, many women who had married earlier came into their own and decided that lifestyle was no longer for them.

It was very interesting. If you want to listen look for freakonomics in the Apple iTunes podcasts and search for the two part episode called "Why marry?"


I agree Farida - Generally people talk about marriage in terms of "love or feelings" but in times past mutual dependence and family posterity were primary reasons for marriage. So even if they married for "love" - when the love faded or times were rough they remained married for the sake of their family and dependence on one another. :yep:
 
Back
Top