How can Christianity impact your marriage

Backstory

My name is Arturo Morales and I am a Registered Marriage and Family Therapist Intern (IMT3436). I was raised in a Christian household in the city of Miami, FL. I was taught Christian values, morals, and ethics. My father instilled Christian principles in my upbringing such as “ honor your father and mother,” and “a man leaves his family to raise his own.” These Christian principles came to a halt when my parents divorced in 2006. I became curious and wanted to understand how God viewed divorce through the lens of scripture. This curiosity led me to study at Moody Bible Institute (MBI) and continue my education through the microscopes of the psychological aspect at Whitworth University in the Marriage and Family Therapy program.

Troublesome Findings

While searching for answers, I found an article from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) that revealed that approximately 2.9 of every 1,000 people in the United States will have a marriage that ends in divorce​​ (Betts). This statistic led to in-depth research from The Pew Research Center, which conducted an analysis on divorce in the Christian realm (​​Betts). The study showed that people who identify as Christian have a 51% rate of ending in divorce (​​Betts). This data is astonishing and troubling for families that are trying to uphold Christian values, morals, and ethics in their household. The lack of knowledge in Christian households regarding healthy communication, parenting skills, and lack of coping skills has led to dysfunctional Christian families. Without this knowledge, families that are struggling are falling through the cracks of the local churches.

The Facts

On the contrary to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) results, other studies revealed religion played an important factor for the survival of marriage. There were 386 participants who conducted questionnaires from 1991 until 2018 (Norouzi, 2). The results revealed the importance of searching for a mate with the same moral values and religious practice has led to the survival of marriage (Norouzi, 10). In fact, the results uncovered cases of infidelity in marriages and the remedy to heal the wounds were seeking a religion while participating in therapy (Norouzi, 9). In other words, marriages that focus on a religious foundation have a higher chance for survival.

The Impact of Christianity

Christianity in the United States has shown a rapid increase in divorce. However, some forms of religious practice have continued to play an important factor to sustain marriages. It is not proven that Christian values, morals, and ethics have corrupted the family dynamic. Christian values, morals, and ethics are traditions that could improve in the family household. Yet, the collaboration of Christian principles and therapy could enhance the nuclear family. I believe couples and families will benefit from therapy to navigate their struggles such as unhealthy communication skills, and dysfunctional family units. The importance of having religious principles in marriage will place a solid foundation to strengthen the family dynamic, and seeking therapy will increase marriage success.

Sources:​​

Betts, Jennifer L. “Divorce Statistics by Religion.” Family & Relationships, Love To Know, 2022, https://divorce.lovetoknow.com/Divorce_Statistics_by_Religion.

Norouzi, S., Tamiz, R., Naghizadeh, S., Mobasseri, K., Imani, L., Esmaeili, P., ... & Asghari Jafarabadi, M. (2022). Marriage survival in new married couples: A competing risks survival analysis. Plos one, 17(8), e0272908.