Divorce Ethics

There is a staggeringly large amount of divorces in the United States (US). In total, the US had a recorded total of 2,140,272 marriages in the year 2014 alone, and of those marriages, 813,862 ended up in divorce or annulment (Center for Disease Control). This means that as recently as 2014, there was a divorce rate of approximately 40%. This supports the statistics that the divorce rate for the US has stayed within 40-50% since the 1970’s (Austin Institute, 2014). While the numbers themselves are important, it is also important that the causes for the high divorce rate be explored, so that it can be known what pitfalls to avoid when participating in such an important union as marriage. There are many causes of divorce in the US such as conflicting gender roles, socioeconomic status, religious conflicts, physical abuse, emotional abuse, alcohol addictions, and many more (Amato & Previti, 2003). This paper will look at many of these reasons, but it will also focus on the differing reasons reported by men and women.

Many legal and financial advantages can be attained through marriage. Instead of getting married after high school, people tend to go to college, get their life together, and then marry. The average groom is now thirty-seven and bride thirty-four (Discuss). According to Associated Press Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, “41 percent of spouses admit to infidelity, either physical or emotional.” Couples these days aren’t communicating the proper way. Instead they get mad at each other and ignore one another. One or both people in the relationship have “checked out”, but they don’t want to divorce for the sake of the children. Or they still love each other, valuing each other as a support system and as close friends, but don’t feel that intimacy toward one another. As said in a marriage article from faqs.org, “The study, by the National Marriage Project at Rutgers University, found that the marriage rate among Americans is at its lowest point ever. Over the last forty years, the rate has fallen forty-three percent. In addition, fewer people are reporting themselves as being “very happy” in their marriages.” Today, most wedding ceremonies involve a religious service, which contains many traditional features that are significant to their cultures. Christian’s services contain wording that has been unchanged since the

The expenses for divorce have increased over the past several decades since divorce became a prominent thing in society. The cost of the divorce industry is approximately $50 billion a year, which comes from the pockets of divorcing couples and the taxpayers who support the state agencies involved (McElroy, 2014). According to a study done by the Marriage and Religion Research Institute, marriages have been proved to promote economic growth, while divorce slows it down. When couples are divorced, it means there will be more households which means more housing, power and resources are required (Haury, 2012). However, with the way that the law is currently, it saves time and money than it would if it were any different. With a longer waiting period like Cathy Meyer suggests, it would cost even more

Throughout time, practices that were once never used, become more common. In the 1600s divorce was a forbidden practice or a last resort. Since then, laws have changed, and so hasn’t the stigma related with divorce. The guilt and fault that divorce once carried has vanished. According to the book Should I Keep Trying to Work it out, “In the United States, researchers estimate that 40%–50% of all first marriages will end in divorce or permanent separation. The risk of divorce is even higher for second marriages, about 60%.” (Hawkins 42). As it became more common for couples in America to separate, divorce gradually became a normal part of so many lives. Why are so many couples separating now? Through research on EBSCO, and other findings, I will attempt to explain this question that so many people ask in today’s world. The divorce rate in America is drastically increasing over time due to new laws, certain generations, and relationship issues.

Divorce is a very common word in today's society. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, "divorce is the legal dissolution of a marriage or a complete or radical severance of closely connected things"(Pickett, 2000). This dissolution of marriage has increased very rapidly in the past fifty years. In 1950 the ratio of divorce to marriage was one in every four; in 1977 that statistic became one in two. Currently one in every two first marriages results in divorce. In second marriages that figure is considerably higher, with a 67% average (National Vital Statistics Report, 2001). One critical aspect of divorce is often not taken into consideration: How it affects children. Every year 1.1 million children are affected by divorce

Divorce is such a personal and common thing in America. There are so many couples who go through the act of divorce every day. According to Kanewicher and Harris (2014), forty to fifty percent of couples will end in divorce within the first few years of marriage. Divorce is the legal dissolution of a marriage by a court or other competent body. There are many factors that may lead couples into divorce. Some of those factors are, marrying too young, low education levels and overall just lack of preparation (Kanewischer, 2015). Although divorce is common now, it was not like this back in the late 1900’s. Divorce was not allowed and most of the time people did not want to get divorce because of all the time and effort they put into their marriage.

What is the modern family? Today the modern family is completely different then what it was twenty years ago. Today, it is more common to have a family with divorced parents, before divorce was seen as unacceptable and a disgrace to the family, but in today’s society, it is more acceptable, and common. Divorce does not just affect the two married people, but it also affects any children they may have. To fully understand how divorce affects children, one must the history of divorce, the changes in the child’s or children’s life, and the effects those changes may bring.

“Marriage is the way in which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament.” (Vatican) In today’s world divorce has become a rather recurring theme. Men and women marry younger and younger, and in many cases it has nothing to do with love. In these cases people marry for selfish reasons such as sexual desires, pride, or principal. These reasons have nothing to do with love and marriage should not be built upon them.

There are fundamental differences between a God-made marriage and a man-made marriage. Marriage is a reflection of God’s love and Christ’s relationship with the church is likened to a marriage. You cannot take God out of marriage because marriage was His idea. It is difficult to manage what you did not create. Just as a car cannot run without an engine, a marriage cannot work without God and His principles. He is the only One able to help you manage your life and your marriage effectively. God started by saying “It is not good for a man to be alone…” What God intends for every married couple is a marriage of unending love, joy, peace and fruitfulness. God never intended for marriages to fail. His plan is for marriages to last until death do us part. Marriage is God’s idea and divorce is man’s idea. Since marriage is God’s idea, He alone has the power and tools to keep it. God says He hates divorce, not the people getting the divorce. Why? Because Divorce is devastating for everyone involved, especially the children and the consequences often last a lifetime. God hates to see what Divorce does to lives and families which is the opposite of what He wants for every family. Let us take a look at some of the differences between a man-made marriage and a God-made marriage.

Religion and the Bible encourage, and perhaps demand marriage from two individuals to create them as one. The Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him (Genesis 2:18)".  "That at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate (Mathew: 19:4-6)". Why does religion place such an importance on a union of marriage? An answer is suggestively related as to why automobile and health insurance companies provide a discount on their policies when filing married. According to State Farm Auto Insurance, two married individuals are much more likely to accept upon themselves responsibility, maturity, and a longer healthier and more satisfying life. Insurance agencies believe your life will be more structured and meaningful, to provide you with a policy. Living alone or entering and departing unstable casual

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2011 there were 2,118,000 marriages in the United States and almost half as many divorces (2013). The CDC also reports that only half of all first marriages will reach their twentieth anniversary. Divorce is a topic everyone is familiar with and it has almost become a normal part of life. While it is assumed that more divorces occur now than in the previous generation, the CDC actually reports that divorce rates have dropped over the past twenty to thirty years, though this could be due to the increase in individuals who live together without ever getting married or those who simply separate and cannot afford to become legally divorced. However, it has become a more

People in America are determined to get married and live together. Married couples want to share everything and depend on each other. However, fifty percent of these couples cannot seem to fulfill their marriage vows. As a result, they choose to get a divorce. Divorce is very easy to do nowadays unlike the past. Statistics show that the four main causes of divorce are: financial difficulty, women are more independent, infidelity, and couples are getting married at a young age.

In the Christian religion, there are two basic laws allowing divorce without the commitment of sin, infidelity and marriage to a nonbeliever whom has abandoned the commitment. However, in today’s society divorce has become a very common thing, as people decide to split part in their many marital dissolutions, and only one of these are considered to be a top five reasons why married couples actually divorce. Furthermore, infidelity or parting upon religious conversions only take upon circumstances of high sin in the views of the Christian God, rather than depicting compelling rational views that affect couples in everyday life.

Saint Paul interpreted the word of Christ on divorce and wrote “To the married I give charge, not I but the Lord, that the wife should not separate from her husband, but if she does, let her remain single or else be

The sanctity of marriage has seemed to have disappeared with the arrival of the 21st century. Though marriage rates have always fluctuated in the past, current events have caused divorce rates to increase. According to recent statistics made by the census bureau, the divorce rate in America is roughly 50 percent. There are a myriad of speculations as to why more people are not staying together. One reason is that people are getting married for the wrong reasons, such as unplanned pregnancies. Another reason is that women have become more independent so that they are not forced in to being in a marriage where they are not happy. Last, lenient divorce laws make it much easier for many couples to get divorced. Combined, these three