Divorce
Divorce is the legal dissolution of a marriage contract. Marriage sometimes has a legal and a religious component. Divorce ends the legal contract. Some religions require the married partners to have a religious divorce if the individuals wish to continue their religious practice. For instance, practicing Jews must get both a legal divorce, to satisfy secular authorities, and a get, or religious divorce, to satisfy religious practice.
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Biblical View
Many believe that the Bible indicates that divorce is a sin in the eyes of God, and can lead to drastic consequences for those involved. Indeed, God says "I hate divorce." (Malachi 2:16 NIV version)
Many Christians believe that God's views on divorce are most clearly articulated in Matthew 5:32 and 19:9:
"32: But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery" (Matthew 5: 32) and, "9: And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery" (Matthew 19: 9)
It should be noted that the corresponding passages in Mark and Luke lack the reference to fornication:
Mark 10:11-12 (KJV): And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery. Luke 16:18 (KJV): Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from [her] husband committeth adultery.
Does two beat one or is Matthew, as an eyewitness, inserting information that the others had lost? There is no one answer.
Some believe that divorce therefore equates to adultery, and incurs the consequences of such.
The further consequences of adultery are played out more radically in Deuteronomy 23:2, when it is stated:
"2: A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the LORD." (Deuteronomy 23:2)
As this is an Old Testament decree (unlike the previously-mentioned Matthew), it may no longer apply Post-Christ when the emphasis of salvation shifts from countries and family lines to individuals.
Many religions adopt the more liberal view towards divorce that advocates its free practice. Most Protestant denominations have no prohibition on divorce. Catholics do not admit divorce. The Catholic Church has a process of annulment based on the non-fulfilment of any of the religious marriage requirements, such as individual freedom or previous unmarried state, among others. Technically, it is not a divorce but a declaration of non-valid marriage. In the 2004 Presidential election season many devout Catholics were scandalized by Senator John Kerry, now married to his second wife, taking Holy Communion without having obtained an annulment.
Divorce in Christian Denominations
The attitude to divorce varies between Christian churches. Although no major church fully prohibits divorce, some make obtaining one more difficult than others.
The Roman Catholic Church prohibits divorce in principle, but in practice will make an exception in every case - often declaring a marriage anulled rather than divorced, a legal distinction.
Most Protestant churches permit divorce, but encourage marriage counseling services or pastoral discussion first to save a marriage, saving divorce as a last resort. Often, the local pastor has exclusive authority over the marital business of his church, with only minimal policymaking from above.
Secular view
Divorce is the dissolution of a contract and laws vary from state to state. Under the common unilateral divorce laws (also known as no-fault divorce), either party can demand and get a divorce at any time and for any reason.[1]
Divorce Rate
The United States has a divorce rate of 3.6 per 1,000 as of 2005[2]. This results in a 41% failure rate for first marriages.[3]
According to a Barna Group study, the percentage of atheists getting divorced is lower than that for Christians or Jews[4] However, since Christians choose not to co-habitate in the same proportions as atheists, they are more likely to marry and therefore more likely to divorce as a group since a greater proportion of them are married.
Covenant Marriage
In order to help solve the social problems created by inordinately high divorce rates, some states have begun passing laws enabling covenant marriages. A covenant marriage in some cases is harder to obtain than a default lawful marriage license and also is more difficult to break (the common exceptions being violence, abandonment or adultery). [5]
References
- ↑ Divorce courts do consider all sorts of allegations of fault when children are involved.
- ↑ http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr54/nvsr54_20.pdf
- ↑ http://www.divorcerate.org/
- ↑ http://www.adherents.com/largecom/baptist_divorce.html
- ↑ http://marriage.about.com/cs/covenantmarriage/a/covenant.htm
