Other "Thinking Drafts" and writing by Keith Drury -- http://www.indwes.edu/tuesday .

Tell me it isn't true George! Are Christians more prone to divorce than non-Christians? How can this be?

George Barna gave evangelicals a pie-in-the-face Christmas present on December 21, 1999 by announcing his yearlong research of almost 4000 adults that showed Christians are more likely to divorce than non-Christians. While 24% of non-born again folk are or have been divorced, the number rises to 27% for born again Christians.

C'mon George! Can it be true? Does being born again increase my chances of divorce?

It gets worse. You figured it was us morally weak boomers, right? Wrong. Those guys above us -- the "Builders" rate a 37% while "only" 34% of us boomers have split. Hey, there's more bad news. The highest divorce rates are among the "non-denominational" churches. Who wins second price in the divorce sweepstakes? Bet you'll never guess. Good old Baptists. And in case you think the stats are messed up with all those spiritually shallow main line people, sit down before reading the next sentence. Those least likely to get divorced are Lutherans and Catholics (21%). In fact, even atheists get divorced less than born-againers (21% compared to 27%).

So, what does all this mean? Can we wriggle out of Barna's findings? If you're looking for a way out here are a few escape doors:

1. Pre-conversion divorce. Barna's asked only if they were or had ever been divorced. Hey, maybe more unconverted people get divorced; then after their life falls apart they start attending church, find Christ, and get born again. [Nice try, but dubious.]

2. Mainline migration. Or, maybe when Catholics and Lutherans get divorced they are shunned in their stable congregations so they migrate over to evangelical churches; especially to "non-denominational" churches who have a Grace=growth philosophy. That lowers the Lutheran-Catholic figures and raises the born-again figures. [Naaaaah, I doubt it.]

3. Born-againers are just more honest. Perhaps people who claim to be born again confess their divorces easier than others? Maybe that would explain the Baptist figures -- Baptists are always "sinning every day in word, thought, and deed" -- so maybe they are less reluctant to tell the truth about their divorces? [Slim chance. Other research by Barna shows born-againers lie just about the same amount as others.]

4. Margin of error. Though this is a major sampling (almost 4000) there is still a margin of error of +2 percentage points. With a spread between born-againers and non-Christians of 27% to 24% -- three points, and a margin of error of 2 points, maybe we are only 1% more likely to divorce. [Oh what relief!]

5. Christians get married more. Then there's the possibility that born-againers get married more and thus increase their chances of divorce. Face it, in the church you're not supposed to "just live together then we won't have to go through a messy divorce." Maybe Christians get married more, thus also divorce more? [ Yeah, sure.]

6. Born-againers expect more from marriage. Or, could it be that Born-againers expect so much of marriage they dissolve their relationships quicker in disappointment? After all, evangelicals are always having marriage seminars, Sunday school classes on how to have a delightful marriage, Dobson is always helping, Christian bookstores are packed with idealized marriage standards... and we keep shipping our men off to Promise Keepers to learn how to be wonderful "spiritual heads of the home." Maybe Born-againers simply expect more from marriage than it can provide, thus we are quicker to give up in disappointment figuring we "got the wrong one?" [Maaaaaaaybe.]

7. "Born again " means absolutely nothing. Or, could it be it's time for Barna to quit dividing people along the self-proclaimed "I'm born again" line? Most of his other research shows people claiming to be born again are no better (and sometimes worse) than non-Christians. Indeed, people who claim a born again experience may or may not be inclined to steal, lie, or cheat on their spouse or even attend church. The term means nothing now. Claiming to be a "born again Christian" is no more likely to tell me anything about your lifestyle than saying you "love the flag" or "believe in God."

The meaning of a term can change and lose its usefulness. After all we quit donning gay apparel. Is it time to also discard the term "born again" -- in Barna's research, and in the church?

To see Barna's press release and original report go to: http://www.barna.org/cgi-bin/PagePressRelease.asp?PressReleaseID=39

So what do you think?

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