On Marriage And Divorce

I think people intuitively realize that divorce is bad, certainly for the pain it brings into children's lives. It is not always easy to find things quantified. Here is a great interview that does just that. Being interviewed is Michael McManus, coauthor of Living Together: Myths, Risks & Answers.

Some of the key points are that cohabitation and premarital sex greatly increase the likelihood of divorce and abuse. A key quote

:...even though most people see nothing wrong with premarital sex, research shows they are wrong. Those couples who married in the 1960s who were virgins were much less likely to divorce than the sexually active — only 30 percent of virgins divorced, while 50 percent of the sexually active divorced. The same pattern can be seen of those who married in the early 1980s. By 1988, 14 percent of virgins had divorced, but 24 percent of the sexually active. That’s 71 percent higher. St. Paul wrote, “Flee fornication.”

I have been taught this all my life, but is is nice to see others who teach and believe the same things. I especially appreciate the empirical evidence. Of course, empirical evidence should not be why someone lives a chaste life. We should just live our lives with real love, because real love never uses another person for physical enjoyment without genuine lifelong commitment.