Why Evangelicals Love the Bad Divorce Statistic

No matter what church you attend, you’ve probably heard that about half of Christian marriages end in divorce. The pastor citing this statistic probably had a good motive—-namely, that we take seriously the covenant of marriage. But as Glenn Stanton recently clarified for TGC in his most recent FactChecker column, the statistic isn’t true. Christians divorce significantly less often than their unbelieving neighbors if they observe their faith by attending church, studying the Bible, and praying.

Stanton, director for family formation studies at Focus on the Family, joined Mark Mellinger and me for our second Going Deeper with TGC podcast to answer several of your lingering questions about divorce and bad statistics. Many of you who read his article wondered how researchers identify non-practicing or nominal conservative Protestants, who do in fact divorce at distressingly high rates. I also ask him why evangelicals in particular so eagerly quote statistics that put us in a bad light and reflect poorly on the God who saved us. Other topics of discussion with Stanton include marriage as a gospel icon, practical steps to protect your marriage, and warning signs that a marriage will end even before it begins.

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Is there enough evidence for us to believe the Gospels?

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Mark Mellinger is a news anchor for WATE-TV (ABC) and the marketing and development director for the National Embryo Donation Center, a life-affirming Christian non-profit in Knoxville, Tennessee. He also contributes part-time to several outlets, including Bott Radio Network and The Gospel Coalition.

Collin Hansen serves as vice president for content and editor in chief of The Gospel Coalition, as well as executive director of The Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics. He hosts the Gospelbound podcast and has written and contributed to many books, most recently Timothy Keller: His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation and Rediscover Church: Why the Body of Christ Is Essential. He has published with the New York Times and the Washington Post and offered commentary for CNN, Fox News, NPR, BBC, ABC News, and PBS NewsHour. He edited Our Secular Age: Ten Years of Reading and Applying Charles Taylor and The New City Catechism Devotional, among other books. He is an adjunct professor at Beeson Divinity School, where he also co-chairs the advisory board.