by Jim Brown
A marriage researcher says while divorce is more prominent in some sectors of the Church than it is in the secular world, research shows that faith remains a vital element in marriages that survive.
Glen Stanton is senior research analyst for marriage and sexuality at Focus of the Family. He says unfortunately, when it comes to divorce — like many other issues — the Church is not much different than the world. But he says that in no way means one's faith does not make a difference in their marriage.
“[Data shows that] people who take their faith very seriously, that live … as a 'disciple' of Christ in the 'daily-ness' of their lives and attend church regularly, pray regularly, seek to serve Christ, seek to love Him in every area of life — those people are significantly more likely to have successful marriages, and significantly more likely to have fulfilling sex lives even,” Stanton says.
Stanton says divorce is most common among nominal or “cultural” Christians, whose church membership is simply an identity — like joining a local Lions Club.
The marriage analyst also says evidence shows that people who cohabit before marriage are significantly more likely to end up divorced, than those who do not. Stanton says there is no debating the fact that pre-marital sexuality is often followed by unsuccessful marriage.
“There's good research that shows that people who are sexually active before marriage are more likely to divorce once they marry than those who are not,” he says. “The numbers are not quite as high in that area — in fact, [they're] not even close to as high for cohabitation — but they're significant nonetheless.”
Stanton is author of the book Why Marriage Matters.
(This article courtesy of Agape Press.)
