Divorce not only prevalent in homes of non-Christians

A study by the Barna Group has found that born-again Christians have the same likelihood to divorce as do non-Christians, and most Americans reject the notion that divorce is a sin.

Among all adults 18 and older, three out of four have been married, and half are currently married. Among those who have been married, more than one out of three have been divorced, Barna found.

Though one-third of the married adults from the preceding two generations had been divorced, nearly half of all married baby boomers have gone through a divorce, the study, released in September, said.

‘Surprisingly similar’

Barna predicted boomers will become the first generation in which a majority experience a divorce.

When broken down by religious affiliation, both 35 percent of married born-again Christians have experienced a divorce and 35 percent of married adults who are not born again have experienced a divorce.

Barna noted that some non-Christians tend to place less importance on the need for marriage and opt to cohabit instead, which would leave them out of the marriage and divorce statistics altogether.

“Among born-again adults, 80 percent have been married, compared to just 69 percent among the non-born-again segment,” George Barna said.

“If the non-born-again population were to marry at the same rate as the born-again group, it is likely that their divorce statistic would be roughly 38 percent — marginally higher than that among the born-again group, but still surprisingly similar in magnitude.”

Concerning whether divorce without adultery is a sin, just 15 percent of adults agreed that it is, Barna found.

The vast majority, 66 percent, disagreed with the statement “when a couple gets divorced without one of them having committed adultery, they have committed a sin.”

Even 52 percent of the born-again group disagreed with the statement.

The California-based Barna Group conducts research on and publishes studies about a wide variety of subjects and issues pertaining to society, religion and politics.

To find more information and to read about past studies from the Barna Group, visit www.thealabamabaptist.org.                                       (BP)