Get Married, Stay Married

There are a lot of "gloom and doom" statistics out there about marriages and families.  And granted, there are some real problems.  But there is another side to the statistics - some good news that should encourage you to get married if you're not, and stay married if you are - even if times are tough.  A few statistics I've found from around the net:

 

There were more than twice as many marriages as there were divorces in the first few years of the 21st Century.  Source: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/

Contrary to a popular urban legend among Christians that states half of marriages end in divorce, research indicates that only 34% of people who have been married have ever been divorced (as of 2001).  While this is still a serious figure, it does give hope: through all the struggles, trials, in-laws, parenting issues, disagreements, financial questions, illnesses and heartaches of life, most people who get married stay married “’til death do us part.”  Source: http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/d/divorce.htm

Couples who worship regularly at an evangelical (Bible-centered) church have 35% fewer divorces than do non-religious or nominally-religious couples. 

Of couples who weekly attend an evangelical church, 73% report being “very happy” in their marriage relationship, as compared to just 52% of non-church goers.
Source: http://www.family.org/cforum/fosi/marriage/divorce/a0037068.cfm

Those who are unhappy but stay married are more likely to be happy five years later than those who divorce.  77 percent of those giving their marriage a very unhappy “one” (on a 1 to 10 scale) rated their marriage as a “seven” after five years of sticking together. This means, in effect, that most divorces need not occur, and that those who “make it work” through unhappy times end up living more joyful, fulfilling lives.   Source: Linda Waite and Maggie Gallagher, The Case for Marriage (New York: Doubleday, 2000), p. 148.

Comments

[Dave M]

Amen! It's about time someone points out the good news. When I mention I'm getting married it seems that a lot of people like to say, "Good luck with that" or "I hope that works out well for you"... Those comments feel loaded with negativity. How about a simple, "Congratulations! That's great!"