It’s a claim you’ve probably heard many times: “Christians divorce at roughly the same rate as the world!” Tim Challies links to an article from Baptist Press by Glen T. Stanton debunking the Christian divorce rate myth. He demonstrates that serious practitioners of religion — Christians, real and nominal — have significantly lower divorce rates.
Professor Bradley Wright, a sociologist at the University of Connecticut, explains from his analysis of people who identify as Christians but rarely attend church, that 60 percent of these have been divorced. Of those who attend church regularly, 38 percent have been divorced. (Read full article)
In other words, one group of people who identify themselves as Christians — but aren’t — have a divorce rate of 60 percent, and another group of people who identify themselves as Christians — among whom many are, but many more are not — have a divorce rate of 38 percent. That is considerably better than “the same rate.” However, I don’t think even that represents the true numbers.
I expect that the number would be significantly lower if members of genuine Bible-believing churches were separated from the mass of apostate pseudo-churches dotting the landscape, and would drop even more if we singled out the minority of churches that practice biblical discipline. It must be admitted that the majority of the 38 percent are not believers at all, but products of apostasy and the plagues of cultural Christianity and undisciplined churches. So we’re left with 38-x percent — make that a big, bold X — of Christians divorcing.
There are still a couple of factors left to consider. First, the statistics quoted are of individuals who “have been divorced.” Many were likely divorced before conversion; they certainly can’t be counted as Christians divorcing. Second, how many of those remaining, who are genuine believers, were married before conversion and are being abandoned, against their will, by unbelieving spouses (1 Corinthians 7:12–15)?
The number left, of genuine believers divorcing believing or unbelieving spouses, is the number that concerns me. Whatever it is, it’s too high. However, I’m convinced that it’s a small percentage of the 38 percent.
The conclusion? Genuine believers, while still imperfect, do not live like unbelievers. The gospel is life-changing. A heart of flesh does not behave “roughly the same” as a heart of stone (Ezekiel 36:24–28). People who have been united with Christ through his death (Galatians 2:20) and are being conformed to his image (Romans 8:29) are not “roughly the same” as those who don’t know him. We who are in Christ are new creatures (2 Corinthians 5:17); new is not “roughly the same” as old. The gospel of Jesus Christ changes everything.
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