by Jim Brown
A new poll reveals a large majority of Americans do not hold a biblical view of divorce. And just a slightly lower percentage apparently have no problem with premarital sex.
The Gallup organization has released a survey that finds two-thirds of Americans believe divorce is morally acceptable. Only 27% believe it is wrong.
Glenn Stanton, senior marriage analyst at Focus on the Family, believes the numbers reflect the American spirit. He says even though we may not hold the particular values, we want to keep people's options open.
“What's interesting about this is if you asked various groups of people this question, the divorced themselves are less likely to be open or warm to the idea of more divorce because they know that it doesn't typically lead to a happier, better life — but instead [it is] simply trading one set of problems for another.”
Stanton says people tend to have a more idealized view that divorce is a road to a better life somehow, and people who have experienced divorce know that is just not the case.
The same poll finds that nearly 60% of Americans believe premarital sex is morally acceptable. The marriage analyst says many Americans do not recognize that what is bad for those they love, is also bad for those they do not know. Stanton says that is because people tend to think about the issue of premarital sex in the abstract.
“[B]ut if you ask people about their own behavior or the behavior of their children, [or ask them if they think it is] alright for [their] daughter or son to engage in sex with someone that they're not married to, those numbers go way, way down,” Stanton says.
“When we bring it out of the theoretical into the real, [and ask] what do you desire for your own life and for the lives of those you love and care about, we do not desire those kinds of behaviors.”
Stanton believes there is a disconnect between what people value for themselves and what they value for the society at large.
(This article courtesy of Agape Press.)
