Christians Are More Likely to Experience Divorce Than Are Non-Christians
(Ventura, CA) Divorce may not be popular, but it remains common in America. A new study by the Barna Research Group (Ventura, CA) shows that one out of every four Americans adults have experienced at least one divorce. One of the surprising outcomes to emerge from the study is that born again Christians are more likely to go through a marital split than are non-Christians. Using statistics drawn from nationwide survey interviews with nearly 4000 adults, the data show that although just 11% of the adult population is currently divorced, 25% of all adults have experienced at least one divorce during their lifetime. Among born again Christians, 27% are currently or have previously been divorced, compared to 24% among adults who are not born again. (Because of the large sample size involved, that difference is statistically significant.)
Who Gets Divorced? What may be just as surprising are some of the statistics related to various population groups. For instance, while Baby Boomers have been widely criticized for their selfishness and their inattention to family needs in favor of career pursuits, the generation for which divorce is most prevalent is not the Boomers but the generation that preceded them--the Builders.
Thirty seven percent of the adults from that generation, who are presently from 53 to 72 years of age, have endured a divorce, compared to 34% among Boomers. In fact, one might argue that it was Builders who initially popularized divorce. Evidence of that is found in a comparison of the incidence of divorce among the Builders (37%) and among those of the generation that preceded them (the Seniors--18%). To date, only 7% of Busters have been divorced, but that is largely because most of them have yet to be married for the first time. Other surprises included regional, ethnic and denominational differences.
Divorce is much less likely in the Northeast than elsewhere. Only 19% of the residents of the Northeast have been divorced, compared to 26% in the West and 27% in both the South and the Midwest. A higher proportion of whites gets divorced (27%) than is true among African-Americans (22%) or Hispanics (20%). The eye-opener is that only 8% of Asians get divorced--just one-third the incidence found among whites.
Among the characteristics that do not seem to be related to divorce are educational achievement, household income, and political ideology.
Faith and Divorce Surprisingly, the Christian denomination whose adherents have the highest likelihood of getting divorced are Baptists. Nationally, 29% of all Baptist adults have been divorced. The only Christian group to surpass that level are those associated with non-denominational Protestant churches: 34% of those adults have undergone a divorce. Of the nation's major Christian groups, Catholics and Lutherans have the lowest percentage of divorced individuals (21%). People who attend mainline Protestant churches, overall, experience divorce on par with the national average (25%).
Among non-Christian groups the levels vary. Jews, for instance, are among those most likely to divorce (30% have), while atheists and agnostics are below the norm (21%). Mormons, renowned for their emphasis upon strong families, are no different than the national average (24%). A related survey recently completed by Barna Research among a nationwide sample of Protestant senior pastors showed that just 15% of pastors have ever been divorced.
A Reaction to the Research These findings were both expected and surprising, according to George Barna, president of the firm that conducted the study. "The national statistics have remained the same for the past half-decade. While it may be alarming to discover that born again Christians are more likely than others to experience a divorce, that pattern has been in place for quite some time. Even more disturbing, perhaps, is that when those individuals experience a divorce many of them feel their community of faith provides rejection rather than support and healing. But the research also raises questions regarding the effectiveness of how churches minister to families. The ultimate responsibility for a marriage belongs to the husband and wife, but the high incidence of divorce within the Christian community challenges the idea that churches provide truly practical and life-changing support for marriages.
Barna also noted that the impact of such widespread divorce has left its mark on young people. "One of the most striking findings in our recent survey among teenagers is that when we asked them to name their top goals for the future, one of the highest-rated was to get married and have the same spouse for their entire life. That's a remarkable goal--one that reflects their own exposure to, and rejection of, a family that has to survive divorce, for whatever reasons. Since millions of those teens have never had a healthy marriage modeled for them, we can only pray that they will have the strength of character and the support systems available to make their goal a reality.
Survey Methodology These findings are based upon telephone interviews conducted throughout 1999 with random national samples of adults. In total, 3854 adults from the 48 continental states were interviewed. The estimated sampling error for the aggregate data is +2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
All of the interviews were conducted from the Barna Research Group telephone interviewing facility. Households were selected randomly through a random-digit dialing procedure (RDD), with just one adult interviewed per household. Quotas were also deployed to ensure accurate regional distribution and minor statistical weighting was used to ensure that the samples reflected national demographic norms. Multiple callbacks were used to increase the probability of selecting a representative sample of households.
The Barna Research Group, Ltd. is an independent marketing research company located in Ventura, California. Since 1984 it has been studying cultural trends related to values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. This research was funded solely by Barna Research as part of its regular tracking of attitudes, values and behavior. Future data releases of this nature may be obtained at no cost by subscribing to The Barna Update, a free bi-weekly e-mailing of new data drawn from Barna Research Group studies. To subscribe, log onto http://www.barna.org and enter your email in the subscription field on the upper left-hand portion of any page.
I know you just marry please read it and have mental preparation !
To 偉： 我想每個人的經驗都不一樣。我是感受不出來我自己或身邊的基督徒有討厭或排擠非基督徒啦...但這問我好像不太準？我有沒有自大囂張狂妄，可能也要問我周圍的人才比較準確。自己是最看不到自己的缺點...每個人都有盲點囉...不過至少我可以說，基督教不希望基督徒排擠或討厭非基督徒，而且也不希望基督徒自大囂張狂妄。
這帖如果還有以凌霸口吻的假正信佛教徒回覆就太不應該了!
回覆刪除自以為包容,卻又在實際行動上排它!
明眼人一看就知道是假佛教徒!
可悲啊可悲啊!造業之深何其大!
說的對！學佛同胞們同來揭發假佛教徒！
回覆刪除謙卑點 !
回覆刪除你這種基督徒我見不少 !
炳我OK !
炳我的神上帝就不OK !
我 我的 我的宗教是 至高無上我我我我..............................................................................................
各界 :
回覆刪除佛法揭示黑暗與紛亂根源，真正的問題就是「自己」。
總以為自己很不錯，很聰明。現在人類隨科學文明一天天的進步，可是這種聰明所產生的是害自己的東西，給與人類本身的威脅日增。正如廚房裡的菜刀、武器的發明、生化科技的進步，在使用上的偏誤都可能造成可怕的傷害。因不能善用科學，所以科學雖進步而人類仍然生活在黑暗中，在黑暗中摸索著。佛法就是要在這黑暗中指出我們一條光明之路
耶穌基督
佛陀和基督 == 不是 IDOL !
回覆刪除==不是 劉德華和 張學友之FANS 分別 !
明白嗎 ! Everyone !
耶穌基督
親愛的朋友:
回覆刪除好好的討論地方為什麼打口水戰呢?
我相信大家可以好好的對談~~
不需要浪費時間在無意義的爭辯上
不是嗎?
基督徒的唯我獨尊霸氣
回覆刪除為傳教不擇手段去歪曲別人教義,
很多不同宗教之人
心知肚明受夠了 !
Esther Wu
Dr 王道仁:
回覆刪除很多時有他教和基督徒做朋友心裡很辛苦 !
他們始終日後密謀機關算盡你信基督教 ! 友誼,愛情跟信仰要交易嗎 ?
好似我們他教的人是間諜 ! (無間道)
我同意 !
esther
耶女真的很尊制 !
回覆刪除相反佛女沒有'妻管嚴' !
My friend all are Christians and they are quite arrogant to force their husband or boy friend to believe Christ !
esther
真正中華文化萬事萬物平等博愛偉大精神不是西方偏執一神宗教所說 :
回覆刪除中國人是宗教病夫 !
基性取向朋友不要極端原教旨主義囉 !
管他什麼教 ! 我只和有人格修養的人做好朋友 !
一生註定食西北風的人
die hard head so-called Christians !
回覆刪除耶穌基督
誓要去 入基督山 浩氣壯 過千關
回覆刪除豪情無限 男兒傲氣
地獄也獨來獨往返 !
＊存心一闖基督教虎豹穴 今朝去幾時還
奈何難盡歡千日醉 此刻相對恨晚
＃願與你 盡一杯 聚與散 記心間
毋忘情義 長存浩氣
日後再相知末晚
重唱 ＊,＃
豪情無限 男兒傲氣
日後再相知末晚
基督徒受死啦 !
Dear Dr Wong !
回覆刪除Christians Are More Likely to Experience Divorce Than Are Non-Christians
(Ventura, CA) Divorce may not be popular, but it remains common in America. A
new study by the Barna Research Group (Ventura, CA) shows that one out of
every four Americans adults have experienced at least one divorce. One of the
surprising outcomes to emerge from the study is that born again Christians
are more likely to go through a marital split than are non-Christians.
Using statistics drawn from nationwide survey interviews with nearly 4000
adults, the data show that although just 11% of the adult population is
currently divorced, 25% of all adults have experienced at least one divorce
during their lifetime. Among born again Christians, 27% are currently or have
previously been divorced, compared to 24% among adults who are not born
again. (Because of the large sample size involved, that difference is
statistically significant.)
Who Gets Divorced?
What may be just as surprising are some of the statistics related to various
population groups. For instance, while Baby Boomers have been widely
criticized for their selfishness and their inattention to family needs in
favor of career pursuits, the generation for which divorce is most prevalent
is not the Boomers but the generation that preceded them--the Builders.
Thirty seven percent of the adults from that generation, who are presently
from 53 to 72 years of age, have endured a divorce, compared to 34% among
Boomers. In fact, one might argue that it was Builders who initially
popularized divorce. Evidence of that is found in a comparison of the
incidence of divorce among the Builders (37%) and among those of the
generation that preceded them (the Seniors--18%). To date, only 7% of
Busters have been divorced, but that is largely because most of them have yet
to be married for the first time.
Other surprises included regional, ethnic and denominational differences.
Divorce is much less likely in the Northeast than elsewhere. Only 19% of the
residents of the Northeast have been divorced, compared to 26% in the West
and 27% in both the South and the Midwest. A higher proportion of whites gets
divorced (27%) than is true among African-Americans (22%) or Hispanics (20%).
The eye-opener is that only 8% of Asians get divorced--just one-third the
incidence found among whites.
Among the characteristics that do not seem to be related to divorce are
educational achievement, household income, and political ideology.
Faith and Divorce
Surprisingly, the Christian denomination whose adherents have the highest
likelihood of getting divorced are Baptists. Nationally, 29% of all Baptist
adults have been divorced. The only Christian group to surpass that level are
those associated with non-denominational Protestant churches: 34% of those
adults have undergone a divorce. Of the nation's major Christian groups,
Catholics and Lutherans have the lowest percentage of divorced individuals
(21%). People who attend mainline Protestant churches, overall, experience
divorce on par with the national average (25%).
Among non-Christian groups the levels vary. Jews, for instance, are among
those most likely to divorce (30% have), while atheists and agnostics are
below the norm (21%). Mormons, renowned for their emphasis upon strong
families, are no different than the national average (24%).
A related survey recently completed by Barna Research among a nationwide
sample of Protestant senior pastors showed that just 15% of pastors have ever
been divorced.
A Reaction to the Research
These findings were both expected and surprising, according to George Barna,
president of the firm that conducted the study. "The national statistics have
remained the same for the past half-decade. While it may be alarming to
discover that born again Christians are more likely than others to experience
a divorce, that pattern has been in place for quite some time. Even more
disturbing, perhaps, is that when those individuals experience a divorce many
of them feel their community of faith provides rejection rather than support
and healing. But the research also raises questions regarding the
effectiveness of how churches minister to families. The ultimate
responsibility for a marriage belongs to the husband and wife, but the high
incidence of divorce within the Christian community challenges the idea that
churches provide truly practical and life-changing support for marriages.
Barna also noted that the impact of such widespread divorce has left its mark
on young people. "One of the most striking findings in our recent survey
among teenagers is that when we asked them to name their top goals for the
future, one of the highest-rated was to get married and have the same spouse
for their entire life. That's a remarkable goal--one that reflects their own
exposure to, and rejection of, a family that has to survive divorce, for
whatever reasons. Since millions of those teens have never had a healthy
marriage modeled for them, we can only pray that they will have the strength
of character and the support systems available to make their goal a reality.
Survey Methodology
These findings are based upon telephone interviews conducted throughout 1999
with random national samples of adults. In total, 3854 adults from the 48
continental states were interviewed. The estimated sampling error for the
aggregate data is +2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
All of the interviews were conducted from the Barna Research Group telephone
interviewing facility. Households were selected randomly through a
random-digit dialing procedure (RDD), with just one adult interviewed per
household. Quotas were also deployed to ensure accurate regional distribution
and minor statistical weighting was used to ensure that the samples reflected
national demographic norms. Multiple callbacks were used to increase the
probability of selecting a representative sample of households.
The Barna Research Group, Ltd. is an independent marketing research company
located in Ventura, California. Since 1984 it has been studying cultural
trends related to values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. This research was
funded solely by Barna Research as part of its regular tracking of attitudes,
values and behavior. Future data releases of this nature may be obtained at
no cost by subscribing to The Barna Update, a free bi-weekly e-mailing of new
data drawn from Barna Research Group studies. To subscribe, log onto
http://www.barna.org and enter your email in the subscription field on the upper
left-hand portion of any page.
I know you just marry please read it and have mental preparation !
女基督徒一般共通點：
回覆刪除1.生活極單調，生活圈子極窄
2.因性格自我中心，不受家人喜愛，與家人關係疏離。但入教後為要使全家人入教，而會主動與家人修好。
3.因以上原因，此類女性極渴望別人關懷，亦對將來愛情生活存有近乎完美化的幻想。
4.崇拜權威、權力，並視牧者，守望人為真理來源
5.因為女性喜歡突出自己，在教會內喜歡以敬虔者自居
6.因崇拜權力，對牧者喜愛的男性尤其留意(切記)
7.愛情付出方面，因自我中心的關係，對身邊男友以至朋友都暗自訂下十大規條，如有過犯，明天就不是朋友！
自我中心就是 SIN !
回覆刪除我相信正信佛教徒不會攻擊別人
回覆刪除我也相信正信基督徒不會攻擊別人
我相信佛教徒原因勸人為善動機是好
正如二千五百年來佛教徒的努力
我也相信基督徒勸人為善動機是好
正如二千年來基督徒的努力
不管什麼宗教都有信徒很糟糕
造成對宗教的誤解
我相信這也是教主本身所不願見到的
嗯.......
回覆刪除我也覺得佛教是很慈悲的宗教.......
應該不會攻擊或咒罵別人啦.......^_^
阿吉
嗯.......
回覆刪除我也覺得基督教是很小家子氣的宗教.......
應該會攻擊或咒罵別人啦.......^_^
混吉
我相信正信佛教徒不會攻擊別人
回覆刪除我相信正信基督徒會為傳福音攻擊別人
我相信佛教徒原因修正自己動機是好
正如二千五百年來佛教徒的努力
我也相信基督徒勸人為善動機是好
正如二千年來基督徒的努力
不管什麼一神宗教都有信徒很糟糕
造成對宗教的誤解
我相信這也是教主本身所不願見到的
To Mr Wong & all Christians :
回覆刪除In Fact , All of my friends and me also agree Esther said
基督教徒為傳教目的 不擇手段 去歪曲別人教義 !
It happens to me very often in my daily life !
I m no religion just a girl passby
livia ng
Moreover, I think some one express thier anger which does not mean that they are Buddhist !
回覆刪除THere are no connection between right /
livia
致基督徒:
回覆刪除這帖如果還有以凌霸口吻的基督教徒回覆就太不應該了!
自以為是!卻又在實際行動上排它!
明眼人一看就知道是真基督教徒!
可悲啊可悲啊!犯罪之深何其大!
真正信基督徒自以凌霸口吻歪曲其他宗教,
回覆刪除太長時間 !
罪証確鑿 !
深切反省啦狂妄基督徒!
我最後提醒你們 ! 因我真的愛你們! 直接指出你們基督徒人格不是 !
回覆刪除聽得進否是你們的心量 !
就是 在別宗教前 妄自尊大 !
你們的分別心太重 !
回覆刪除要分主內主外 ?
有很多你們猜疑病發
主外的人修養胸襟比你們姓基的好得多 !
真正不酒不肉(不似B)好朋友 耶穌基督 敬上
自我中心,自以為是,抬高自己,踩低人哋
回覆刪除的{基}人 !
我 耶穌基督 向 基督徒 直人說直真話 :
回覆刪除任何宗教最後都是修好自己 身 (Action), 語(Speech),意念(MIND) !
不好原教旨主義 !
神(自我中心)權執迷不悟 !
正信佛法(無神論)做得比基督教好 !
耶穌基督 上
請問王先生你為何原因信基督教 ?
回覆刪除Thomas
致王先生:
回覆刪除我本人的生活經歷告訴我基督徒暗地裡多數不喜歡/討厭/排擠/異教徒 !
我有很多異教徒朋友告訴我同基督徒朋友在一起他們自大囂張狂妄態度很難相處 !
人類真的要因無聊主義去分裂嗎?
耶穌基督是製造我們人類衝突的原因嗎?
我沒有什麼宗教信仰 !
偉 上
基督教只是小圈子裹的友誼嗎?
回覆刪除偉
To Thomas:
回覆刪除這是個好問題囉...改天我來post我相信上帝的過程吧！也可以看看blog裡面幾篇文章囉：
我喜歡基督信仰的地方：愛與憐憫http://sharinglearner.blogspot.com/2008/05/blog-post_17.html
我喜歡基督信仰的地方：知道自己的不足http://sharinglearner.blogspot.com/2008/05/blog-post_4845.html
我喜歡基督信仰的地方：藉著信來得到接納http://sharinglearner.blogspot.com/2008/05/blog-post_18.html
我對宗教信仰的反省http://sharinglearner.blogspot.com/2007/04/blog-post.html
王生:
回覆刪除請 Use 心 答 我 . 因 我 很 想 知 道.
偉
To 偉：
回覆刪除我想每個人的經驗都不一樣。我是感受不出來我自己或身邊的基督徒有討厭或排擠非基督徒啦...但這問我好像不太準？我有沒有自大囂張狂妄，可能也要問我周圍的人才比較準確。自己是最看不到自己的缺點...每個人都有盲點囉...不過至少我可以說，基督教不希望基督徒排擠或討厭非基督徒，而且也不希望基督徒自大囂張狂妄。
馬太福音5:9使人和睦的人有福了！因為他們必稱為上帝的兒子。
雅各書4:6...上帝阻擋驕傲的人，賜恩給謙卑的人。
如果我們基督徒有做得不好的地方，我們願意改進囉...
王道仁生:
回覆刪除不過至少我可以說，我本人經驗基督徒真的排擠或討厭非基督徒，而且我認識的基督徒朋友經常在別的宗教前自大囂張狂妄。
偉
王生終極真理一定是基督教的神嗎?
回覆刪除偉
To 偉：
回覆刪除很抱歉有些基督徒讓您有這種感受，希望我們基督徒都好好改進。
至於真理的問題，我們每個人都希望能找到真理，但每個人也有自己的盲點。我當然相信基督教的上帝就是終極真理，不然我就不用信基督教，但我也承認我是有盲點的，也有可能會出錯。對我來說，我只能慢慢去學習，每一天離真理更近，但我是不可能取代真理的。至於我對別人的信仰，則抱持尊重的立場，畢竟我有盲點，也因此可以從別人身上去學習。另外我也會分享我的經驗，希望和別人一起成長。
道仁