Content area
Full Text
With a third of "born-again" Christians reporting that they have gone through at least one divorce, Christian ministers, psychologists, and marriage and family counselors say churches need to be much more open and direct about dealing with their members' relationships, mate selection, marriage preparation and marriage enhancement.
"Churches should take a leading role because they have a moral position in the importance of commitment people make to one another," said James L. Furrow, professor of marital and family therapy at Fuller Theological Seminary's School of Psychology.
Many church leaders had believed that active church members would have a lower divorce rate than others because of Christian teachings about the permanence of marriage. But that does not appear to be the case.
Several studies, including a recent survey by the Barna Research Group, which is well known for its church-related polls, have shown that religious Christians have divorce rates the same as the general population, with approximately one-third of adults having been through at least one divorce.
"We haven't done a good job of helping people to know how to integrate their faith into every dimension of their life," said pollster George Barna.
*
'Survival of Fittest'
"What we wind up with are people who know some of the principles and...