It’s a sad fact that more than half the marriages in the U.S. end up in divorce. Statistics on divorce in many other developed countries are almost as bad. We seem to be living in a world where we get married with the idea, “If it doesn’t work, I can always get a divorce.” Instead of trying to fix problems, we just run away from them.
For first time marriages in the United States, about 50% end in divorce. The statistics are almost as bad in countries like Australia, Canada, Denmark, New Zealand and the UK. It’s even worse with the second marriage as almost two-thirds of those end in divorce, and three-fourths of third marriages wind up in divorce court.
Although most people make the traditional vows when they get married, sticking to them seems to be another matter altogether. These vows include the promise of staying together “until death do us part” but it doesn’t seem to be taken seriously. It’s more like people agree to stick together only as long as everything is fun and easy.
It’s common knowledge that famous people have a high divorce rate. Television and movie stars, pro athletes. . . anyone constantly in the public eye seems to have a high divorce rate as a group.
Of course, it’s not just famous people. For instance, policeman have a high divorce rate in the United States. It’s the highest of about any profession. There are many causes, such as dealing with a high-risk professional and seeing the dark side of human nature so much. The hours are sometimes unpredictable. Then there are the groupies who are attracted to authority in a uniform. That’s probably one of the reasons why firefighters and military personnel also have a high divorce rate.
Why so much divorce?
So why aren’t people sticking to the vows they made when they got married? How come so many people don’t try to work out problems in their relationship, but divorce instead?
Marriage isn’t seen as quite as important in today’s society. It used to be people stuck together no matter what. That created problems too, but we seem to over-react and swing the pendulum too far in the other direction. So now instead of getting married, people just live together, having children without bothering to get married. For people in the poorer sections of society, it is all too common for a woman to have several children that each have a different father.
If people do not have a religious faith, then it is less likely they will take their wedding vows made “before God” as seriously as those couples who do have a deep faith. The latter is more likely to take such promises seriously.
What About Divorce & Children?
One bright spot int he statistics on divorce is the fact couples with children have about a 40% lower divorce rate than couples without children. Unfortunately, that likely doesn’t bring much comfort to children of divorced parents.
All too often these children blame themselves for the divorce, thinking that in some way they must be responsible. Of course, it also means that most of the time they are in the company on only one parent, one gender, instead of having the influences of both genders present during their formative years.
Bottom Line on Divorce Statistics
In some ways, the exact statistics aren’t the issue. Whatever the exact percentage it, it’s high. And that means that more people are treating marriage more like a temporary situation. If you go with the fact half the people who get married end up divorcing, then half the people aren’t willing to do some serious work on their relationship to keep it stable.
And that’s sad, considering the heartache and serious aftermath of a divorce.
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