Marriage Statistics
Compiled by Andrea Hudson
12/23 – 12/26/09; Formatted and Revised by Rochelle Augustin
1/11/10 – 1/28/10; Revised by Josiahs Scott 1/29/10; 2/15/11; 5/14/11; 9/22/11
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This work is an appendix resource for the book, Divorce and Remarriage Repentance Revolution. It is time to call the church to repent of adulteress remarriage! |
Contents
Church Attendance and Acceptance of Divorce. 1
Most People Remarry After a Divorce2
The Growing Tolerance of Divorce2
Most People are Willing to Divorce over Adultery. 2
Is Divorce without Adultery is a Sin?3
Rate of Divorce Among
Christians and Non-Christians is the Same3
Majority of Divorce Among
Christians Occurs After “Salvation”3
Highest Divorce Rates Among Boomer Generation. 4
Marriage and Divorce Rates Among Christians. 4
Conclusion
– There Actually is a Call to Action!5
Grey Matter Research
Grey Matter Research & Consulting (formerly Ellison Research) is a marketing research organization that conducts studies for major firms and special interest groups.
Addressing The Health of Ministers’
Families:
http://www.greymatterresearch.com/index_files/Pastor_Families.htm
“The vast majority of
ministers in the U.S. are currently on their first marriage (80%). Only 3% have
never been married. Fourteen percent have been divorced (12% have since
remarried, while 2% remain unmarried), and 3% have been widowed (2% remarried,
while 1% remain unmarried). Almost nine out of ten evangelical ministers are on
their first marriage (88%), with 3% widowed, 8% divorced, and only 1% never
married. There is more diversity – and much more divorce – among
mainline Protestant ministers, as 69% are on their first marriage, 7% have
never been married, 1% have been widowed, and 23% have gone through a divorce.
(Note that the study was conducted among clergy who are currently senior
pastors, so these figures would not include those who left the ministry after a
divorce or the death of a spouse.)”,
(Ellison Research, 2005, Research shows pastors may not have a realistic view of the health of their own families).
Gallup Poll
Church Attendance and Acceptance of Divorce
http://www.gallup.com/poll/6592/Future-Marriage-Part-III.aspx
“Only
41% of those who attend church on a weekly basis say divorce is acceptable,
compared with 64% of those who attend church nearly weekly or monthly, and 77%
of those who seldom or never attend church”,
(Robison, Jennifer , 2002, New Marriage
and The Future of Marriage: Part III, para. 5).
Most People Remarry After a Divorce
http://www.gallup.com/poll/11161/Divorce-Doesnt-Last.aspx
For 70 years Gallup has been monitoring the human behavior throughout the world. Their regularly conduct their opinion polls have a reputation of providing an objective insight into the opinions and nature of people.
“More
than a quarter of adult Americans, according to a recent Gallup Poll*, have
been divorced at some time in their lives, but only 10% are currently divorced.
This means that more than half of divorcees, 63% to be exact, have remarried.
And chances are that many of those who have yet to remarry, eventually will. So
while marriages may fail, the will to be married endures”,
(Saad, Lydia , 2004, Divorce Doesn't
Last, para. 1).
“Middle-aged
divorcees are the most likely to have tied the knot again. About 7 in 10 30- to
49-year-olds who have been divorced at one time are currently married. This
figure is 63% for 50- to 64-year-olds. By contrast, only about half of
previously divorced young adults and seniors have remarried”,
(Saad, Lydia , 2004, Divorce Doesn't Last, para. 3).
Although statistics show that half of
all marriages that are commenced today will fail, the attraction for marriage
is still strong. Those who fail at one marriage will more than likely attempt
another.
The Growing Tolerance of Divorce
http://www.gallup.com/poll/23041/Americans-Complex-Relationship-Marriage.aspx
“Indeed, Gallup trends show that the percentage of American adults who were married at the time of the survey has fallen from a high of 77% in the 1960s to an average of 53% since 2000. Simultaneously, the percentage of divorced Americans at the time of the survey has grown from 3% to 11%, and the percentage either single or living together has surged from 9% to 24%”,
(Saad, Lydia , 2006, Americans Have Complex Relationship With Marriage, para. 2).
“Divorce is widely viewed as acceptable among all
age groups -- a practical perspective if nothing else, given that 28% of U.S.
adults, according to the latest poll, have been divorced at least once. The
percentage divorced is particularly high among those 50-64, an age group that
is also more accepting of the morality of divorce”,
(Saad, Lydia , 2006,
Americans Have Complex Relationship With Marriage).
Also see the charts that they have on this link above.
Most People are Willing to Divorce over Adultery
http://www.gallup.com/poll/105682/Most-Americans-Willing-Forgive-Unfaithful-Spouse.aspx
“As shown above, 64% of Americans say they would
not forgive their spouse for having an extramarital affair, including 38% who
say they would definitely not do so. Sixty-two percent say they would leave
their spouse and get a divorce if they found out their spouse was having an
affair; 31% would not”, (Jones, Jeffrey M. , 2008, Most Americans Not
Willing to Forgive Unfaithful Spouse, para. 3).
General Social Survey
The General Social Survey has been tracking the opinions of Americans since 1972. They conduct nationwide research by yearly having randomly selected Americans complete a questionnaire on their lifestyle, beliefs, and other issues of life. All the information provided can be found on their website:
http://www.norc.org/GSS+Website/
In 2007 about 75% of Americans believed that in the case of a bad marriage it is best that the marriage be broken up through a divorce.
George Barna Group
The George Barna Group is headquartered in Ventura, California and is one of the primary research organizations that deal with the relationship between religion, specifically Christianity, and culture.
Is Divorce without Adultery is a Sin?
Most Americans do not think that the act of divorcing their spouse is a sin. The actual question asked was do you think divorcing your spouse for any other reason except adultery is sin? The question itself is based off of bad doctrine, but it does show how Americans feel about the issue of divorce.
“Only one out of every seven adults (15%) strongly agreed with the statement "when a couple gets divorced without one of them having committed adultery, they are committing a sin." A similar percentage (16%) moderately agreed with the statement. The vast majority - 66% - disagreed with the statement, most of them strongly dismissing the notion. Faith perspectives made a difference in people’s views on this matter - but not as much as might have expected. Born again adults were twice as likely as non-born agains (24% vs. 10%) to strongly affirm this statement. However, a majority of the born again group (52%) disagreed that divorce without adultery is sin. Three-quarters of all non-born again adults (74%) disagreed with the statement. A majority of both Protestants (58%) and Catholics (69%) disagreed that divorce without adultery involved in the commission of sin”,
(The Barna Group, 2004, Born
Again Christians Just As Likely to Divorce As Are Non-Christians).
Rate of Divorce Among Christians and Non-Christians is the Same
“Among
all adults 18 and older, three out of four (73%) have been married and half
(51%) are currently married. Among those who have been married, more than one
out of every three (35%) have also been divorced. One out of every five adults
(18%) who has ever been divorced has been divorced multiple times. That
represents 7% of all Americans who have been married”,
(The Barna Group, 2004, Born
Again Christians Just As Likely to Divorce As Are Non-Christians, para.3).
Majority of Divorce Among Christians Occurs After
“Salvation”
“Barna also noted that he analyzed the data
according to the ages at which survey respondents were divorced and the age at
which those who were Christian accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. "The
data suggest that relatively few divorced Christians experienced their divorce
before accepting Christ as their savior," he explained. "If we
eliminate those who became Christians after their divorce, the divorce figure
among born again adults drops to 34% - statistically identical to the figure
among non-Christians." The researcher also indicated that a surprising
number of Christians experienced divorces both before and after their
conversion.
Multiple divorces are also
unexpectedly common among born again Christians. Barna’s figures show
that nearly one-quarter of the married born agains (23%) get divorced two or
more times”,
(The Barna Group, 2004, Born
Again Christians Just As Likely to Divorce As Are Non-Christians).
Highest Divorce Rates Among
Boomer Generation
“The average age at which people first dissolve
their initial marriage tends to be in the early thirties. Among people in their
mid-fifties or older, the median age of their first divorce was 34. Among Baby
Boomers, millions more of whom are expected to get a divorce within the coming
decade, the median age of the first divorce is currently 31. The Barna Group
expects the average age of a first divorce among Boomers to be similar to that
of the preceding generations by 2015, as the aging members of that generation
sustain divorces later in life. The research revealed that Boomers continue to
push the limits regarding the prevalence of divorce. Whereas just one-third
(33%) of the married adults from the preceding two generations had experienced
a divorce, almost half of all married Boomers (46%) have already undergone a
marital split. This means Boomers are virtually certain to become the first
generation for which a majority experienced a divorce.
It appears that the
generation following the Boomers will reach similar heights, since more than
one-quarter of the married Baby Busters (27%) have already undergone a divorce,
despite the fact that the youngest one-fifth of that generation has not even
reached the average age of a first marriage”,
(The Barna Group, 2004, Born
Again Christians Just As Likely to Divorce As Are Non-Christians, para.3).
Marriage and Divorce Rates Among Christians
“In addition to finding that four out of every five adults (78%) have been married at least once, the Barna study revealed that an even higher proportion of born again Christians (84%) tie the knot. That eclipses the proportion among people aligned with non-Christian faiths (74%) and among atheists and agnostics (65%)”,
(The Barna Group, 2008, New Marriage and Divorce Statistics Released, para. 2).
“Among adults who have been
married, the study discovered that one-third (33%) have experienced at least
one divorce. That means that among all Americans 18 years of age or older,
whether they have been married or not, 25% have gone through a marital
split”,
(The Barna Group,
2008, New Marriage and Divorce Statistics Released, para. 3).
“Born again Christians who are not evangelical were indistinguishable from the national average on the matter of divorce: 33% have been married and divorced. The survey did not determine if the divorce occurred before or after the person had become born again. However, previous research by Barna has shown that less than two out of every ten people who accept Christ as their savior do so after their first marriage.
(The Barna Group, 2008, New Marriage and Divorce Statistics Released, para. 6)
“In
fact, when evangelicals and non-evangelical born again Christians are combined
into an aggregate class of born again adults, their divorce figure is
statistically identical to that of non-born again adults: 32% versus 33%,
respectively”
(The Barna
Group, 2008, New Marriage and Divorce Statistics Released, para. 7).
US Census Bureau
The
US Census Bureau is responsible for implementing the US Census, which is a
constitutionally mandated survey of America’s demographic, economic,
social, and cultural conditions.
1992 Report: Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage in
the 1990s
http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/marr-div/p23-180/p23-180.pdf
Other Resources
Here are some other resources tow consider for Marriage Statistics. If you have any recommendations that we can add, please let us know.
Conclusion – There Actually is a Call to Action!
Do these divorce statistics disturb you? Do you have any heart at all for all the evil that is happening against marriage covenants, which is being covered over in the name of ‘christianity’? It is high time we stopped letting this filthiness multiply! It is time someone listened and believed the Words of Jesus and took Him seriously enough to stop playing along with the hypocritical religious games of modern christianity! It is high time someone actually called the church to repent of the treachery of divorce and the adultery of remarriage!
We are here to help if you are willing and ready to embrace the revolution!
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Copyright © Josiahs Scott, All rights reserved (see below)
The only reason I put this here is to avoid people misusing this work with bad motives. This is officially copyrighted to protect it from those with money in mind, and to preserve it for free distribution, especially in the unlikely event that someone might think to make money off of it rather than maximizing its distribution. You are permitted and encouraged to freely copy and redistribute this work in its entirety, via standard copy machine or electronic documentation as long as you make no money off of it. If you wish to reproduce this work on any larger scale, please contact me at Josiahs@trueconnection.org. You may also quote this document, by citing the reference as:
“[Name
of Bible Study]” By Josiahs Scott, www.TrueConnection.org
PersonalNotes
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Compare:
http://msgboard.snopes.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=39;t=000964;p=0
charts
Barna?
Graph of percentage of people who divorce among different religions 
http://www.norc.org/GSS+Website/
including some useful charts:
http://www.gallup.com/poll/23041/Americans-Complex-Relationship-Marriage.aspx
Of the people who are between 18-29 years old, 5% have divorced
Of the people who are between 30-49 years old, 27% have divorced
Of the people who are between 50-64 years old 45% have divorced
Of the people 65 years and older 27% have divorced
http://www.gallup.com/poll/107380/Cultural-Tolerance-Divorce-Grows-70.aspx
A graph of the data provided in the article.
Explanation
These are just the rough beginnings of a compilation of personal notes on marriage statistics. Please let us know if you have more useful data that might be useful to add to this page.
12/26/09 Imported and explained
by Josiahs
Finalized