Barna Study - Divorce Rate HIGHER with Christians vs Aheists

[GandalfTheWise]

On 10/3/2017 at 11:47 AM, Neighbor said:

Well, perhaps that particular survey is flat out wrong! From Good ol' "Got Questions" comes this review of the Barna study/survey.

"Question: "Is the divorce rate among Christians truly the same as among non-Christians?"

Answer: We’ve all heard the claim: “Christians are just as likely to divorce as non-Christians.” This statement is often attributed to a 2008 study by the Barna Research Group that indicated that those who identified as Christian were just as likely as non-Christians to be divorced. This study was also broken down into subcategories by religious denomination, showing Baptists and non-denominational Protestants leading the way in divorce. The claim that the divorce rate among Christians equals that of non-Christians builds upon the common assumption that 50 percent of all marriages end in divorce. But, according to the latest research, those statements about the divorce rate, among Christians in particular, are untrue.

Harvard-trained social researcher and author Shaunti Feldhahn, in her book The Good News About Marriagesays that the data reveals a different story about the divorce rate. Feldhahn states that the “50 percent” figure was not based on hard data; rather, the number came from projections of what researchers thought the divorce rate would become after states passed no-fault divorce laws. “We’ve never hit those numbers. We’ve never gotten close,” she writes. According to her study, the overall divorce rate is around 33 percent.

Partnering with George Barna, Feldhahn reexamined the data pertaining to the divorce rate among Christians and found that the numbers were based on survey-takers who identified as “Christian” rather than some other religion. Under that broad classification, respondents were as likely as anyone else to have been divorced. The “Christian” category included people who profess a belief system but do not live a committed lifestyle. However, for those who were active in their church, the divorce rate was 27 to 50 percent lower than for non-churchgoers. Nominal Christians—those who simply call themselves “Christians” but do not actively engage with the faith—are actually 20 percent more likely than the general population to get divorced.

Dr. Brad Wilcox, director of the National Marriage Project, states that “‘active conservative protestants’ who attend church regularly are actually 35% less likely to divorce than those who have no religious preferences” (quoted by Stetzer, Ed. “The Exchange.” Christianity Today. “Marriage, Divorce, and the Church: What do the stats say, and can marriage be happy?” Feb. 14, 2014. WEB. Oct. 26, 2015). In her studies, Feldhahn found that 72 percent of all married people were still married to their first spouse. And of those marriages, four out of five are happy.

Putting it all together, what these findings tell us is that religion itself cannot insulate us from the stresses that pull at the fabric of our marriages. But there’s definite good news regarding divorce rates and Christians: contrary to what’s been reported for years, the divorce rate is not 50 percent; it’s more like 30 percent. And then we find that people who keep God at the center of their home and family stay married at far greater rates, and even thrive within those marriages. One of the reasons for this is that those whose first commitment is to the lordship of Jesus put fewer expectations upon their spouses to meet emotional needs that only God can meet. The lessening of unrealistic expectations gives marriages a stronger foundation upon which to withstand difficult times.

Although 1 Peter 2:7 is speaking of the church in general, the words also echo the truths revealed in the statistics on Christian marriages: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” When Jesus is the cornerstone of our homes and marriages, we can weather the storms (see Matthew 7:24)."

I've been a professional analyst and have spent a career working with quantitative data in various forms.  My take on all the hoopla surrounding the original Barna study was that almost everyone refused to look at the assumptions underlying the numbers that get thrown around.  The numbers thrown around did NOT take into account whether a divorce took place before or after someone became a Christian.  In my opinion, the relevant question is what the divorce rate is AFTER both partners have become Christians.  That was not answered in the original verbiage and numbers of the study referred to throughout this thread.  

Extrapolating from what I see in this post from the brief summary of numbers is that the divorce rate among practicing Christians is much lower than those who are not, but still high considering it should be very low.  I've read a few other of Shaunti Feldhahn's books and thought that they were well researched, well written, and insightful.  She's not so much a person with a preconceived axe to grind but someone trying to figure out what is really happening.  I have not read this one, but if it is at the same quality level as the others, I'd expect her conclusions to be reasonable.

Anecdotally, I see much the same things as @Neighbor.  I see marriage being upheld in the pulpit both as an ideal and with practical advice.  Among Christians I know, most divorces occurred before they became Christians with a smaller number occurring after they became Christians.  In contrast, it seems like significantly larger numbers of my coworkers and neighbors comment about having ex-spouses, divorces, remarriages, step-kids, and step-parents than Christians I know.  I've sadly seen some marriages between Christians end in divorce, but it simply does not seem to me that I am seeing 1 in 3 marriages in Christian circles around me ending in divorce.  When I look back at all of the Christian couples that my wife and I have known for decades, I'd put the number of divorces much lower than 30%. Of the dozen or so couples among our friends from campus ministry days that we've stayed in touch with, there's only been 1 divorce in the 30 years since then.  Of the few dozen young couples we knew at the church we spent about 6 or 7 years in as a young family, there've only been a handful in the 25 years since then.

Bottom line that I see is better than the world but room for improvement.

 

[Neighbor]

5 hours ago, DesertSW said:

I am not following your "logic" here as the opposite of what you said would be Biblically true. The "thief" lies in order to lull people into a state of "all is great with our world" and "all is good, nothing bad going on".

The "thief" or the Devil in Jesus' time was telling everyone "all is well, we are doing great as a society and we are not sinning".

So I would disagree with you vehemently as you are claiming the divorce rates by Barna were falsified and we as a Christian society are doing well when it comes to marriages, yet reality states otherwise and the millions of broken Christian homes and marriages show the reality of the truth.

By your "stats" if you read them carefully, you claim the Christian divorce rate is next to zero, which is an absurdity and a lie.

There is a major difference between falsified and inaccurate. All numbers are compied in surveys decision have to be made as to what the numbers mean. It is  true that survey  systems  project the numbers  expected to represent the whole by taking a very small sampling of some in order to form survey opinions.

In the case of divorce rates there have been projections of thirty percent rates and what the effect of no fault divorce might do to those rates. The prediction was that  without the restraint of having to find fault the rate would climb to  over 50%. That has never happened. In fact surveys, also  potentially flawed, state the rate has gone down. Now there is no direct comparison to old surveys, as there is no knowledge that all surveys have even used the same criteria. 

So at best we have apples and oranges, at worse we have all erronious numbers trying to be justified by well meaning people. 

In any and perhaps every case there is also the "Festinger Theory of Cognitive Dissonance" effect. That being that once a conclusion is reached a person then  tends to  only accept what  confirms their own conclusions while rejecting all contrary  information that does not confirm them.

 I have no interest in arguing. I am not attacking. I am stating what I have read and what I see for my own consideration. It is up to any reader to make their own decisions. 

So I am done here. I have no dog in this fight, if it is to be a fight. I just have enjoyed engaging in conversation is all. 

 Take care, God bless,

neighbor

[DesertSW]

20 hours ago, Davida said:

Thing is there are quite a number of heretical denominations - so i'm not surprised by who was included in their survey that they found many didn't believe in Christian absolute truths & basic Christian doctrines.  Those are the churches I would not belong to and "Christians " I don't see eye to eye with.   I was raised in one of them that accepted divorce. The one i'm in now , I would be surprised if anyone has had a divorce.

 

That is part of my point. According to Wiki and other studies, there are 30,000 Christian denominations in the world today.

When one disagrees with a tenant of the church (marriage, divorce, abortion, theology, etc) then one can find a church that they agree with. Hence the reason why there are 30,000 Christian denominations out there.

If one believes divorce is OK, then one will seek a church which espouses that belief. So we find churches which fit our beliefs. If we don't like something the Bible says, there is a church out there which will agree with you.

[DesertSW]

Adding to the above post. My ex-wife and her parents (elders at a church) believed divorce was wrong except in cases of  adultery and abuse. So there was a dilemma my wife and her parents faced since she wanted to divorce without just Biblical cause. So instead of doing the RIGHT THING and sitting down with a pastor and discussing the issues she had with the marriage. They did the WRONG THING and just changed their Biblical beliefs overnight.

So they changed their theological stance to that God allows for divorce in any and all cases and grace covers all things and divorce is OK if the spouse no longer wishes to be married. So over 60 years of Biblical belief were thrown out the window by her parents and once that was done, my wife got the green light to file to divorce without any just reason or even any attempts to try and reconcile through Godly healing and counseling.

Welcome to modern day Christianity. Where if you want to do something that is against God's Word, no problem. Just change your beliefs, find someone that agree with you, and all is good!

In the same way when Barna (Christian based) does a study that shows that American Christians are divorcing in alarming rates. Instead of addressing the problem (Christians and their actions), some people attack the study. The problem is never addressed and the "all is well" mantra is sung. Problems are never addressed as once the problem is exposed, some people attack the messenger, and therefore sweep the problem back under the table.

 

 

 

Edited October 7, 2017 by DesertSW