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Faith Improves South Carolina’s Marriages Article posted on 5/6/2008 Article has been viewed 644 times. Faith and Marital Health What is more, couples who pray together and attend church regularly are significantly more likely to report their marriage being "very strong" than couples who do not have any religious participation. The differentials are (84%/49%) for prayer and (75%/50%) for church attendance. South Carolina couples who pray together and go to church regularly are more likely to say they would marry their spouse again if they had it to do over, than those who never participate in these activities. The differentials are (94%/82%) for prayer and (89%/75%) for church attendance. More church attending couples (99%) expect to be married for life than those who do not attend church (87%). However, fewer South Carolinians believe others ought to be married for life. Only 67% churchgoers believe marriage should be "til death do us part" but this is substantially higher than the percentage of non-attenders that believe this (34%). Those who attend church are also more likely (72%) than those who stay home on Sunday morning (51%) to believe that people who divorce do not find happiness, but typically trade one set of problems for another. Church’s Ability to Strengthen Marriage South Carolinians overwhelmingly believe that Churches can do more than any other institution to strengthen marriage (63%), even more than extended family (21%). Only 4 percent or fewer believed therapists, media, schools, or government could do the most effective job. What is more, ministers perform 75% of the weddings in South Carolina, while justices of the peace only perform 23%. Even the majority (52%) of those who never attend church formed their marital union under the blessing of the Church. Recommendations for Recovering a Marriage Culture In the 1998 South Carolina Marital Health Index, Palmetto Family Council recommends that all sectors of society need to contribute to the recovery of marriage. Specifically, we call on the Palmetto state’s faith communities to: 1. Teach a theology of marriage that helps South Carolina understand and appreciate the seriousness, wonder, and mystery of marriage. 2. Teach marriage as the foundation for sexuality, domestic relationships, and child rearing. 3. Serve the larger community by ushering people into marriage with a realistic appraisal of the marital relationship and the competencies needed to succeed in this wonderful union. 4. Encourage older, successfully married couples to mentor younger engaged and married couples. 5. Have its clergy and leadership in local communities covenant together to agree on setting guidelines and expectations for premarital preparation and marital maintenance. Together, we can all improve South Carolina, by improving South Carolina’s marriages! [ return to main selection screen ]
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