Marriage and Divorce

                For numerous years, too many to count, we have been indoctrinated with the idea that half of all marriages end in divorce.  We have also been told that the marriages that do end in divorce come from across the spectrum.

                Shauntil Feldhalm, social researcher, has a new book entitled The Good News About Marriage.  In her book she tackles some of the common misconceptions such as those mentioned above, misconceptions that damage the institution of marriage.  Feldhahn conducted “an extensive eight-year research study on the subject”; she claims “the actual divorce rate has never even gotten close to 50 percent, that churchgoers have significantly lower divorce rates and that most marriages are actually successful.”

                “One of the biggest patterns that I’ve seen over the years as a social researcher is that there’s one common denominator about whether marriage survives or fails.  If a couple thinks they’re going to make it, they generally do.  The outcome is very different if they think, `This is never going to change.  We’re never going to make it.’”

                Feldhalm said that the misconceptions and myths about marriage are actually affecting marriages negatively.  “There is no such thing as a 50 percent divorce rate.  It’s never been close.  Right now … 72 percent of people are still married to their first spouse – that’s Census Bureau data.”  Plus the other 28 percent include those whose spouse died rather than divorced.  This means that the actual divorce rate is lower than 28 percent.

                It sounds to me that The Good News About Marriage is very good news and well worth the money to purchase it.