Why is divorce more common among Evangelical Christians than among Atheists?

Question

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Wouldn't you think that if Christianity could do ANYTHING at all, it could keep the divorce rate down among its own membership? Nonetheless, divorce among the "born again" is as high or higher than any other group.

What reason can you give me not to use this information as evidence supporting the conclusion that Christianity is simply a mass delusion?

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This data came from the Barna research group, a conservative Christian research organization. Here's the reference for the data, in case you're skeptical:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_dira.htm

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DITA: It's the divorce RATE, meaning the percentage of Christians vs. non-Christians who have been divorced, not the actual number.

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EARL D: Christianity is a group of choice, not a group of birth. What's more, it promotes itself as God's instrument in the world. That is a claim that I am taking seriously, and finding the organization and its membership falling far short of its own claims. I assert simply that there is no God, that they have deluded themselves into thinking that they're blessed and that their marriages are superior to those of others. The statistics dispute this strongly. Christians are simply proving that they do not have any God working within the organization or the individuals. It is simply a notion that confirms their own pettiness, and it is entirely possible that that same pettiness contributes to the higher divorce rate among Christians.

Kindly do not accuse a liberal gay man who has taken graduate level statistics of racism when your analysis is so far from the facts.

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Answer 1

Good question. There are likely numerous causations. Could be partly due to the fundies outdated views towards women:

"Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church."
— I Corinthians 14:34-35 (NIV)

Or it might be due to the doctrine of forgiveness within Christianity. Fundies might feel they can sin more because all they have to do is ask for forgiveness and they get a clean slate to sin again. Just a guess.

On Saturday night, I would see men lusting after half-naked girls dancing at the carnival, and on Sunday morning when I was playing organ for tent-show evangelists at the other end of the carnival lot, I would see these same men sitting in the pews with their wives and children, asking God to forgive them and purge them of carnal desires. And the next Saturday they'd be back at the carnival or some other place of indulgence. I knew then that the Christian church thrives on hypocrisy, and that man's carnal nature will (win) out no matter how much it is purged or scoured by any white-light religion.
— Anton LaVey

If I were personally to define religion, I would say that it is a bandage that man has invented to protect a soul made bloody by circumstance.
— Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945)

A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true.
— Demosthenes; (384-322 B.C.E)

What has been the effect of religious coercion? To make half the world fools, and the other half hypocrites.
— Thomas Jefferson, (1743-1826)

Cognitive dissonance: A condition of conflict resulting from inconsistency between one's stated beliefs and one's actions. In other words, they don't practice what they preach.

We have a term to describe the person who, in the face of evidence that obviously conflicts with his personal beliefs, rationalizes in such a way as to remove the conflict. The term is cognitive dissonance.
— Farrell Till

The Bible is a mine rich in the ore of cognitive dissonance.
— Delos B. McKown

Answer 2

I don't know. There are all kinds of factors: which part of the country they live in, how young they were when they got married, etc. I also found this: >Some researchers have suggested that religion may have little or no effect on divorce rates. The apparently higher rate among born-again Christians, and lower rate among Atheists and Agnostics may be due to the influence of financial and/or educational factors. Religion may have nothing to do with it at all; it could simply be coincidental. For example: it could simply be a geographical thing. People who live in the Southern U.S. have the highest divorce rate in the entire country, and there are a lot of Christians in that area. Also, I think that calling it "significantly higher" is misleading. Here is a chart from the article, stating the rate of divorce in each religious group: Jews 30% Born-again Christians 27% Other Christians 24% Atheists, Agnostics 21% It's only 6% higher in born-again Christian circles, and only 3% higher among other Christians. It should also be noted that Lutherans and Catholics have the same divorce rate as atheists and agnostics. So the problem isn't with all Christians, or even all conservative ones - Catholics are fairly conservative, are they not? Saying that it's "significantly higher" or "much higher" is therefore misleading. It's not that great of a difference. 1 in every 5 atheist or agnostic couples still gets divorced. Let's not pretend there's no problem there.

Answer 3

Because as ar said, there are hypocrites. Christians are still human and they do sin. Some get caught up in very ungodly things and the other partner makes the choice not to be with the person anymore, or the sinning partner decides to leave. Divorce shouldn't be the first thing looked at when something happens in the marriage, yet it happens, like I said, humans that sin.

It would be nice if Christians could be a role model at how a marriage should be. Understand though, there will many Christians that believe that they are saved who are really not. To ask for forgiveness and repent, you must actually mean it, not just give lip service. God knows the heart of all, so there is no fooling him. Those that proclaim to be Christian should really search their hearts and lives to see if they are indeed, living according to God's will, not their own.

Answer 4

Probably because such fundamentalist Christians still have a warped view of man/woman relationships that is not viable in today's world. Many Christian men still believe that women are only supposed to cook, clean, raise kids, and obey their husband at all costs, and that is not a mentality that works in the new millenium - or even the 1970's.

I've known fundamentalist couples where the man beats the wife and the wife just sits there and takes it because she took a vow to obey him when the got married. It's really sad!

Also, it may be because fundamentalists are much more judgemental and are always looking to accuse someone else of sinning against God and they're always pointing their fingers and telling people they're going to hell. That's pretty damn sad, too.

Answer 5

No idea. If some Christians are arrogant enough to want gay spouses to break up because the Bible calls homosexuality an abomination, why don't they also end their second or third marriages, which the Bible also bans?

I didn't realize that fundamentalism was so selective. Oh wait--yes I did. Cherry picking is common with them, in both the literal and figurative sense.

Answer 6

Well that site is on the internet so it must be true,..

Seriously I have a hard time putting stock into a website that advertises for live psychic readings on the same page. I went to the link to the article from the Barna group but it's gone now. But let's go ahead and assume that what that site claims is true.
I wonder how many atheists there are in America as compared to Christians. It might make more sense.

I bet more people with dark eyes have divorced then have people with green eyes as well.


-BD

Answer 7

If you really want a reason, I believe that atheists are more pragmatic about life and not looking for the perfection that some christians may be seeking or expecting out of their lives. It does say something about how "sacred" christians really see marriage. There are far more christians in prison than there are atheists per capita. Does that say anything??

Answer 8

Maybe they get caught up in trying to say who is sinning more in the marriage. Lol.

And for the woman above me. Marriage is NOT christian. Marriage was around WAY LONGER than the christian religion. If you don't believe me, go look it up.

Answer 9

That is easy to answer, the devil is who comes "to steal ,kill and destroy".and the only one that he is after , are Christians.Satan is not interested in atheists, because they already belong to him.
That means , that the devil is bringing all kinds of temptations and circumstances into a Christians life , that an atheist never may have to encounter.
The life of a Christian is much harder than that of a non-believer.
How do I know ? Because I was wearing both shoes.

Answer 10

Because atheists do not believe in the sanctity of mar...

Oh, wait, never mind...