Divorce and Religion
Although divorce happens globally, and for a multitude of reasons, religion is dealing a major blow to American marriages. Research, according to Glass (2014), shows that areas in the United States that are predominantly Christian, such as the Southern conservative states, are more likely to show higher divorce rates. Normally overlooked because of its perceived moral benefit, religion is not always advantageous to marriage. Coupled with poverty or societal views, such as being negatively labeled for having children before marriage, Christianity is often the catalyst for marriage disaster (Glass, 2014). With the picture of the perfect family being reflected by the Christian community, people of religion often fall prey to forcing this transformation upon themselves. For example, a child born out of wedlock may influence a young Christian couple to marry when they normally may not have, just to conform to their religion. This additional stressor may add too much strain on the marriage, creating the marriage-ending snowball effect. With Christianity still being a substantial part of Western culture, American divorce rates are continuing to lead the world. Furthermore, societal views on the Christian religion, coupled with convenient divorce laws, are forcing unnecessary pressure on Christian marriages.
Interestingly, even citizens who are not Christian or religious at all are more likely to experience divorce just for living in a predominantly Christian community (Glass, 2014). That is to say, just because we do not share the same religious views, we still share the same societal views of our respective communities. This is because a community collectively shares the same ideas on what the societal norms are. For example, in one town everyone might commonly wave at one another, but in another waving may be unusual. Unfortunately, as a society, we may subconsciously conform to the pressures of our surroundings, which in this case only helps perpetuate the Western divorce cycle.
Interestingly, even citizens who are not Christian or religious at all are more likely to experience divorce just for living in a predominantly Christian community (Glass, 2014). That is to say, just because we do not share the same religious views, we still share the same societal views of our respective communities. This is because a community collectively shares the same ideas on what the societal norms are. For example, in one town everyone might commonly wave at one another, but in another waving may be unusual. Unfortunately, as a society, we may subconsciously conform to the pressures of our surroundings, which in this case only helps perpetuate the Western divorce cycle.