shegeek72
2006-11-28 05:39:25 UTC
U.S. divorce rates for various faith groups, age groups, & geographic
areas
http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_dira.htm
Divorce rates among Christian groups:
The slogan: "The family that prays together, stays together" is well
known. There has been much anecdotal evidence that has led to
"unsubstantiated claims that the divorce rate for Christians who
attended church regularly, pray together or who meet other conditions
is only 1 or 2 percent". 8 [Emphasis ours]. Dr. Tom Ellis, chairman of
the Southern Baptist Convention's Council on the Family said that for
"...born-again Christian couples who marry...in the church after having
received premarital counseling...and attend church regularly and pray
daily together..." experience only 1 divorce out of nearly 39,000
marriages -- or 0.00256 percent.
A recent study by the Barna Research Group throws extreme doubt on
these estimates. Barna released the results of their poll about divorce
on 1999-DEC-21. 1 They had interviewed 3,854 adults from the 48
contiguous states. The margin of error is within 2 percentage points.
The survey found:
11% of the adult population is currently divorced.
25% of adults have had at least one divorce during their lifetime.
Divorce rates among conservative Christians were significently higher
than for other faith groups, and for Atheists and Agnostics.
George Barna, president and founder of Barna Research Group, commented:
"While it may be alarming to discover that born again Christians are
more likely than others to experience a divorce, that pattern has been
in place for quite some time. Even more disturbing, perhaps, is that
when those individuals experience a divorce many of them feel their
community of faith provides rejection rather than support and healing.
But the 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."
[...]
areas
http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_dira.htm
Divorce rates among Christian groups:
The slogan: "The family that prays together, stays together" is well
known. There has been much anecdotal evidence that has led to
"unsubstantiated claims that the divorce rate for Christians who
attended church regularly, pray together or who meet other conditions
is only 1 or 2 percent". 8 [Emphasis ours]. Dr. Tom Ellis, chairman of
the Southern Baptist Convention's Council on the Family said that for
"...born-again Christian couples who marry...in the church after having
received premarital counseling...and attend church regularly and pray
daily together..." experience only 1 divorce out of nearly 39,000
marriages -- or 0.00256 percent.
A recent study by the Barna Research Group throws extreme doubt on
these estimates. Barna released the results of their poll about divorce
on 1999-DEC-21. 1 They had interviewed 3,854 adults from the 48
contiguous states. The margin of error is within 2 percentage points.
The survey found:
11% of the adult population is currently divorced.
25% of adults have had at least one divorce during their lifetime.
Divorce rates among conservative Christians were significently higher
than for other faith groups, and for Atheists and Agnostics.
George Barna, president and founder of Barna Research Group, commented:
"While it may be alarming to discover that born again Christians are
more likely than others to experience a divorce, that pattern has been
in place for quite some time. Even more disturbing, perhaps, is that
when those individuals experience a divorce many of them feel their
community of faith provides rejection rather than support and healing.
But the 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."
[...]