Actually, I was wrong, I apologize - non-religious couples have the lowest rate.
[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]Barna's results verified findings of earlier polls: that conservative Protestant Christians, on average, have the highest divorce rate, while mainline Christians have a much lower rate. They found some new information as well: that atheists and agnostics have the lowest divorce rate of all. George Barna commented that the results raise "
questions regarding the effectiveness of how churches minister to families." The data challenge "
the idea that churches provide truly practical and life-changing support for marriage."
[/FONT]
[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]Variation in divorce rates by religion:[/FONT]
<!--mstheme--> <table bgcolor="#ffffcc" border="0" width="72%"><tbody><tr> <td width="38%"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]
Religion<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td width="62%"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]
% have been divorced<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="38%"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]Jews<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td align="center" width="62%"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]30%<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="38%"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]Born-again Christians<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td align="center" width="62%"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]27%<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="38%"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]Other Christians<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td align="center" width="62%"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]24%<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="38%"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]Atheists, Agnostics<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td align="center" width="62%"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]21%[/FONT]</td></tr></tbody></table>
If you ever dated a Jewish girl then you can understand the 30%. :biggrin:
[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]
Variation in divorce rates by age:
<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]<table bgcolor="#ffffcc" border="0" height="105" width="85%"> <tbody><tr> <td height="43" width="58%"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]
Age group<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td height="43" width="42%"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]
% have been divorced<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td height="22" width="58%"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]Baby boomers (33 to 52 years of age)<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td align="center" height="22" width="42%"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]34%<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td height="22" width="58%"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]Builders (53 to 72 years of age)<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td align="center" height="22" width="42%"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]37%<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td height="22" width="58%"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]Seniors (above 72 years of age)<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td align="center" height="22" width="42%"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]18%[/FONT]</td></tr></tbody></table>
[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]
Variation in divorce rates by location:
The
Barna Group study found:
<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]<table bgcolor="#ffffcc" border="0" height="137" width="85%"> <tbody><tr> <td height="22" width="50%"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]
Area<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td height="22" width="50%"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]
% are or have been divorced<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td height="21" width="50%"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]South<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td height="21" width="50%"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]27%<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td height="22" width="50%"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]Midwest<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td height="22" width="50%"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]27%<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td height="22" width="50%"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]West<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td height="22" width="50%"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]26%<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td height="20" width="50%"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]Northeast<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td height="20" width="50%"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]19%[/FONT]</td></tr></tbody></table>
[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica] The
Associated Press computed divorce statistics from data supplied by the
U.S. Census Bureau and the
National Center for Health.<sub>4</sub> They found that Nevada had the highest divorce rate, at 8.5 divorces per 1,000 people in 1998. Nevada has had a reputation as a quickie divorce location for decades. People from other states visited Nevada, fulfilled their residency requirements, got divorced and returned home single.
The data showed that the highest divorce rates were found in the Bible Belt. "
Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama and Oklahoma round out the Top Five in frequency of divorce...the divorce rates in these conservative states are roughly 50 percent above the national average" of 4.2/1000 people.
<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]<!--msthemelist--><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <!--msthemelist--><tbody><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42">
</td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]11 southern states (AL, AR, AZ, FL, GA, MS, NC, NM, OK, SC and TX averaged 5.1/1000 people. (LA data is not available; TX data is for 1997).<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]<!--msthemelist--></td></tr> <!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42">
</td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]Nine states in the Northeast (CT, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT) averaged only 3.5/1000 people.<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]<!--msthemelist--></td></tr> <!--msthemelist--></tbody></table><!--mstheme-->[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica] Some of the factors that contribute to a high divorce rate in the Bible Belt, relative to Northeastern states are:
<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]<!--msthemelist--> <!--msthemelist--><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42">
</td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]More couples enter their first marriage at a younger age.<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]<!--msthemelist--></td></tr> <!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42">
</td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]Average household incomes are lower (OK and AR rate 46<sup>th</sup> and 47<sup>th</sup> in the U.S.)<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]<!--msthemelist--></td></tr> <!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42">
</td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]They have a lower percentage of Roman Catholics, a denomination that does not recognize divorce. Anthony Jordan, executive director of the Southern Baptist Convention in Oklahoma commented: "
I applaud the Catholics," says Jordan. "I don't think we as Protestant evangelists have done nearly as well preparing people for marriage. And in the name of being loving and accepting, we have not placed the stigma on divorce that we should have."<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]<!--msthemelist--></td></tr> <!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42">
</td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]Some factor in conservative Protestantism -- which is prevalent in the Bible Belt -- may causes a higher level of divorce.[/FONT]</td></tr></tbody></table>