This means Boomers are virtually certain to become the first generation for which a majority experienced a divorce. According to a new study from The Barna Group, releasing new statistics on marriage and divorce, most Americans get married at some point in their life: just one out of five adults (22%) has never been married. A 1997-AUG survey by Barna among 601 senior Protestant pastors revealed that the vast majority are married (95%). Christians question divorce rates of faithful . Among the largest Protestant groups, those most likely to get divorced were Pentecostals (44%) while Presbyterians had the fewest divorces (28%). That means that among all Americans 18 years of age or older, whether they have been married or not, 25% have gone through a marital split. The survey showed that divorce varied somewhat by a person’s denominational affiliation. Marriage and Divorce As Millennials Near 40, They’re Approaching Family Life Differently Than Previous Generations. Respondents were not asked to describe themselves as “evangelical.”. That means that among all Americans 18 years of age or older, whether they have been married or not, 25% have gone through a marital split”, These group 2 members, especially Catholics, have low rates of divorce, so putting them in the “non-Christian” comparison group substantially changes the comparison. “You can understand why atheists and agnostics might have a high rate of divorce, since they are less likely to believe in concepts such as sin, absolute moral truth and judgment. The numbers fluctuated a bit, but once again atheists came out painfully good from a prays-together-stays-together perspective. The maximum margin of sampling error associated with the aggregate sample is ±1.6 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. (The Barna Group, 2008, New Marriage and Divorce Statistics Released, para. ), Barna stated that there is no end in sight regarding divorce. Many pastor's children do not attend church now because of what the church has done to their parents. A more recent 2008 Barna report shows a closer divorce rate gap between born-again Christians (32% had been divorced) and atheist/agnostics (30% had been divorced). What the skeptics and mockers seem to be fixating on is a class Barna identified as "born again" non-evangelicals, whose divorce rate was 33%, statistically indistinguishable from the national average and above the atheist/agnostic rate of 30% (of those that married). George Barna, who directed the study, noted that Americans have grown comfortable with divorce as a natural part of life. Key findings on marriage and cohabitation in the U.S. About half of never-married Americans have used an online dating site or app . Faith perspectives made a difference in people’s views on this matter – but not as much as might have expected. Born again adults were twice as likely as non-born agains (24% vs. 10%) to strongly affirm this statement. If the non-born again population were to marry at the same rate as the born again group, it is likely that their divorce statistic would be roughly 38% – marginally higher than that among the born again group, but still surprisingly similar in magnitude.”. These group 2 members, especially Catholics, have low rates of divorce, so putting them in the “non-Christian” comparison group substantially changes the comparison. At Shaunti’s request the Barna Group looked again at their data and included recent church attendance (a faith-based practice) in their statistical compilations and found a 10% drop in the current divorce rate (27% for those had attended church in the last week and 37% for everyone else). In the church 33%, outside the church 34%. According to her study, the overall divorce rate is around 33 percent. Only one out of every seven adults (15%) strongly agreed with the statement “when a couple gets divorced without one of them having committed adultery, they are committing a sin.” A similar percentage (16%) moderately agreed with the statement. “You can understand why atheists and agnostics might have a high rate of divorce, since they are less likely to believe in concepts such as sin, absolute moral truth and judgment. Also, the south is second in the nation in divorce. The vast majority – 66% – disagreed with the statement, most of them strongly dismissing the notion. The Barna survey examined eight elements of religious behavior. Next: An evaluation of Barna's divorce statistics II Among Baby Boomers, millions more of whom are expected to get a divorce within the coming decade, the median age of the first divorce is currently 31. 1. Barna's statistics are tied to its highly specific—and controversial—definitions of born-again Christians and evangelicals. The maximum margin of sampling error associated with the aggregate sample of adults is ±1.9 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. The divorce rates of Christian believers are not identical to the general population – not even close. It was not even referring to those who were in church vs outside of church! That figure is identical to the outcome among married adults who are not born again: 35%. Catholics were substantially less likely than Protestants to get divorced (25% versus 39%, respectively). An evaluation of Barna's divorce statistics II (Post ten of a series on Christian divorce rates) In the previous post, I put forth that Barna's well-publicized finding of "no-difference" for Christian divorce rates results from his using a narrow definition of Christianity. The Barna surveys appear odd when it comes to “born again” Christians. A representative from Barna also pointed out the atheists and agnostics have lower rates of marriage and a higher likelihood of cohabitation, a combination of behaviors that distort comparisons with other segments. Barna's latest published divorce statistics say one-third of all adults, including "non-evangelical born-again Christians," have ended a marriage. The study showed that the percentage of adults who have been married and divorced varies from segment to segment. They found some new information as well: that atheists and agnostics have the lowest divorce rate of all. Yet the survey found that the percentage of atheists and agnostics who have been married and divorced is 37% – very similar to the numbers for the born again population. ― National Marriage and Divorce Rate Trends One divorce occurs approximately in every 36 seconds. Books shelved as marriage-divorce: Married for God: Making Your Marriage the Best It Can Be by Christopher Ash, The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel. According to research by the Barna Group, the divorce rate for practicing Christians and Evangelicals was 25 percent – the same as for all other adults. Christians Have Same Incidence of Divorce. Government statistics and a wealth of other research data have shown that co-habitation increases the likelihood of divorce, yet cohabiting is growing in popularity,” Barna said. Three-quarters of all non-born again adults (74%) disagreed with the statement. Marriage and Divorce Statistics As Compiled by The Barna Group in 2008. The statistics and data-based analyses in this study are derived from a national public opinion survey conducted by Barna among 1,003 U.S. adults and 603 practicing Christian adults. Households selected for inclusion in the telephone sample received multiple callbacks to increase the probability of including a reliable distribution of qualified individuals. .. Home Research Based on nationwide surveys among more than 2600 adults, the study concludes that the African-American population is the segment with the most traditional Christian beliefs and practices, and that Asians are generally the least in-tune with Christian perspectives. The biggest denomination which was definitely non-Christian in all sense of the faith for which the Barna Group conducted research on breakup rates was for the American Jews. A more recent 2008 Barna report shows a closer divorce rate gap between born-again Christians (32% had been divorced) and atheist/agnostics (30% had been divorced). Respondents are not asked to describe themselves as “born again.”, “Evangelicals” meet the born again criteria (described above) plus seven other conditions. Here I replicate his type of analysis with another data set, to show the impact of this definition. The reality is that relationships among atheists are a vortex of instability with … As stated, evangelicals had about the lowest divorce rates in the survey. The average age at which people first dissolve their initial marriage tends to be in the early thirties. The Barna Research Group, an evangelical Christian organization that does surveys and research to better understand what Christians believe and how they behave, studied divorce rates in America in 1999 and found surprising evidence that divorce is far lower among atheists than among conservative Christians - exactly the opposite of what they were probably expecting.