Mar

31

New Barna Info on Marriage and Divorce

Posted on March 31st, 2008 in Faith, Life and Family by Fred McKinnon

Hey Everyone,

Some very interesting new research by the Barna Group on marriage, divorce, and “co-habitation” (shacking up). Rather than re-hash all the content, here’s the link to each topic:

George Barna, who directed the study, noted that Americans have grown comfortable with divorce as a natural part of life.

“There no longer seems to be much of a stigma attached to divorce; it is now seen as an unavoidable rite of passage,” the researcher indicated. “Interviews with young adults suggest that they want their initial marriage to last, but are not particularly optimistic about that possibility. There is also evidence that many young people are moving toward embracing the idea of serial marriage, in which a person gets married two or three times, seeking a different partner for each phase of their adult life.”

After reading this article and viewing the “Divorce Among Adults Who Have Been Married” chart, I do have a question, though. Call me stupid and uneducated (ok, don’t), but one question I have from this content … what is a “non-evangelical born again Christian?

Ok, I’ve finished out this blog with my take on marriages and a bit of revelation and confession from my own marriage (McKinnon Marriage Exposed) … which I’ll release within the next 24 hours or so after we discuss this initial post. So stay tuned.

What do you think?
Fred


  • Ken Mullis

    According to Red Skelton, marriage is the number one cause for divorce!

  • Pingback: New Barna Info on Marriage and Divorce | Divorce Issues, Lawyers, and Headaches

  • http://4whatitsworth.wordpress.com/ Shannon Lewis

    “non-Evangelical Born-Again Christian”…hmm… given the over-all popularity of the ‘alter call’ and ‘crisis conversion’ in our ‘post-Billy Graham’ world, I would ASSUME that would be a person who claims to have had a ‘born again’ experience, who – however – does not hold to the Bible as inerrant or absolutely authoritative. For instance, someone who claims to be a Christian, but also believes that there are other ways to God.

    A few years back I read stats showing that individuals engaging in pre-marital sex (particularly with one another) were twice as likely to divorce as those who didn’t – those same stats showed that individuals living together prior to marriage were 4 times as likely to divorce. Seems to me as though a world frightened by divorce is doing everything they can to ensure they get one!

  • http://www.fredmckinnon.com Fred McKinnon

    Ken,
    NICE GRAVATAR! And great laugh to get me started this morning.

    Shannon … I’m happy that I’m not the only one who doesn’t exactly know what that means … anyone have a direct-dial to Barna to answer that question???

    Fred

  • http://travispaulding.com Travis

    Does it mean that they got the fire insurance and asked Jesus into their heart in VBS in 3rd grade but haven’t done anything about it since?

    I always heard money was the #1 cause for divorce. To think, its the marriage causing it all this time. Well, now we have identified the problem… Thanks Red.

  • http://billychia.com Billy Chia

    Fred,
    As a divorced guy it breaks my heart to hear this stuff.

    The “rite of passage” thing makes TONS of sense to me. I’ll tell you that when I talk with other divorced people about being divorced there’s a lot of that vibe.

    Great post though. I’ll have to star this in my reader and check out the links when I have more time. Thanks for putting this up.

  • http://4whatitsworth.wordpress.com/ Shannon Lewis

    Travis… your description of the “non-evangelical born-again” had me laughing out-loud!

  • http://www.fredmckinnon.com Fred McKinnon

    Billy,
    Thanks … although I’m not ‘divorced’, Joy was previously married, so I married someone who had been ‘divorced’, an issue I wrestled with in prayer, study, and counsel. (and have no, zero, nada regrets!)

    I’d not really thought of the whole “rite of passage” thought, and although I can see how people in this culture arrive there, it shocks me.

    Would you believe that as I grew up, I can only remember knowing TWO people in school that had divorced parents? Two. I’m not that old, either, at 37.

  • http://www.fredmckinnon.com Fred McKinnon

    PS: I might add, though, especially since I mentioned Joy’s former marriage … that by the grace of God, thankfully there is “life after divorce”, redemption, grace, and fulfillment, as I’m sure you (Billy) can testify!

  • Pingback: divorce » Blog Archive » New Barna Info on Marriage and Divorce

  • Pingback: FredMcKinnon.Com » Blog Archive » McKinnon Marriage Exposed

  • http://IndyChristian.com IndyChristian

    Ken, you hit an (old) nail on the head — that was our very issue with the way Barna presented his 1999 divorce stats… leading to the well-traveled ‘evangelical divorce meme’. Still, as we’ve pointed out at http://indychristian.com/2008/03/new-barna-divorce-stats-tell-different.html Barna’s recent stats still fall short of reflecting equal-footed comparisons.

subscribe by rsssubscribe by email facebooktwitter
twitter


  • About Me

    I'm a Christ Follower, Husband, Father, Worship Leader, Performer, and Entrepreneur ... more.

  • Compassion

    Sponsor a child online through Compassion's Christian child sponsorship ministry. Search for a child by age, gender, country, birthday, special needs and more.

  • Music Clearance

    CD + DVD: $5.00
    Worship Under the Stars - Live Worship
    CD + DVD: $5.00!
    Order Online!

  • RSS TWC Discussions

  • Categories

  • Archives

  • Meta & RSS