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Why Do Democratic States Have The Lowest Divorce Rates?
gnomexxx
Member Posts: 2,920
To Avoid Divorce, Move to Massachusetts
By PAM BELLUCK
Published: November 14, 2004
OSTON — If blue states care less about moral values, why are divorce rates so low in the bluest of the blue states? It's a question that intrigues conservatives, as much as it emboldens liberals.
As researchers have noted, the areas of the country where divorce rates are highest are also frequently the areas where many conservative Christians live.
Kentucky, Mississippi and Arkansas, for example, voted overwhelmingly for constitutional amendments to ban gay marriage. But they had three of the highest divorce rates in 2003, based on figures from the Census Bureau and the National Center for Health Statistics.
The lowest divorce rates are largely in the blue states: the Northeast and the upper Midwest. And the state with the lowest divorce rate was Massachusetts, home to John Kerry, the Kennedys and same-sex marriage.
In 2003, the rate in Massachusetts was 5.7 divorces per 1,000 married people, compared with 10.8 in Kentucky, 11.1 in Mississippi and 12.7 in Arkansas.
"Some people are saying, 'The Bible Belt is so pro-marriage, but gee, they have the highest divorce rates in the country,' " said Barbara Dafoe Whitehead, co-director of the National Marriage Project at Rutgers University. "And there's a lot of worry in the red states about the high rate of divorce."
The Barna Group, a California organization that studies evangelical Christian trends, has produced two studies about divorce that found that born-again Christians were just as likely to divorce as those who are not born-again Christians.
One of the reports, a survey of 7,043 people in 2001, said that: "Residents of the Northeast and West are commonly noted for their more liberal leanings in politics and lifestyle. However, the region of the nation in which divorce was least likely was the Northeast."
The other study, published two months ago, said that even though the Northeast probably had a higher rate of couples living together rather than marrying, the divorce rate would be essentially similar even if the cohabiting couples got hitched. And it said that "relatively few divorced Christians experienced their divorce before accepting Christ as their savior."
George Barna, the head of the organization, said that "a lot of really nice Christian people try to shoot down the research by saying 'Oh, they got divorced and then they became born again.' That's just not true."
What accounts for the nation's divorce dichotomy is the subject of much speculation.
Some people, like Bridget Maher, an analyst on marriage and family issues at the conservative Family Research Council, attribute it almost entirely to the religions in the different regions. "The Northeast and Midwest have high populations of Catholics and Lutherans and they have lower divorce rates than other Christians," she said.
Others, like Patrick F. Fagan, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, say it has nothing to do with differences between faiths.
"People who worship frequently no matter what their faith tend to divorce much, much, much less," said Mr. Fagan, making an argument that might unwittingly suggest that Northeasterners are more devout than other people. "All this talk about this faith, that faith, born again, not born again, to me is irrelevant."
Many experts believe the explanation to be more multidimensional, with high divorce rates tied to factors like younger age of marriage, less education and lower socioeconomic status.
"The higher the educational level, higher the occupational level, higher the income, the less likely you are to divorce," said William V. D'Antonio, a sociologist at the Catholic University of America, pointing out that Massachusetts has the highest rate of high school and college completion. "Kids who drop out of high school and get married very quickly suffer from the strains of not being emotionally mature and not having the income to help weather the difficulties of marriage."
Theodora Ooms, a senior policy analyst at the Center for Law and Social Policy, said that a recent Oklahoma study found that when Oklahomans marry, they are on average two and a half years younger than the national average.
Ms. Whitehead, who lives in Amherst, Mass., said that New England is a region that has "more stability" than other regions. "People stay here, their families stay here, and there's more social and family support for people, a more communal versus individualistic culture in New England compared to the cowboy states."
She said religion may underscore those regional differences.
"In states with lots of evangelicals, the more individualistic Protestant religious faiths may actually also encourage more go-it-alone attitudes than communal ones," Ms. Whitehead said. And these are also states where the culture encourages sexual abstinence before marriage, she said.
"If your family or religious culture urges you not to have sex before you get married," she said, "then one answer is to get married, and then you're more likely to divorce."
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Comments
Boy, anti-republicans are trying real hard arent they? LOL
People who have to create conspiracy and hate threads to further a cause lacks in intellectual comprehension of diversity.
Clinton is at the top of the ticket...their vary worried? LOL
Trade in material assumptions for spiritual facts and make permanent progress.
Holy crap, so what your telling me if I stop believing in God and stop being a Conservative, My wife wont leave me? sounds like the beliefs of the "church of later day saints". I really did not know being liberal means great family values, like abortion for example. and same sex marriage.
"If your family or religious culture urges you not to have sex before you get married," she said, "then one answer is to get married, and then you're more likely to divorce."
That's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard...ever.
Because you know...statistically speaking...the odds of getting a divorce if you're not married...well...let's just say that they're pretty stinking low
As for everything else, it's sad that Christians are pretty much in the same boat as the rest of the country when it comes to thinks like divorce rate and premarital sex..It has pretty much been my moto for the last few months but: Conform no longer to the pattern of this world.
Your argument is like a two legged dog with an eating disorder...weak and unbalanced.
Its letters like these that make Christians all look like extremists.
I saw they brought up the no sex before marriage rule. To be honest, I don't know anyone who follows that rule anymore.
Divorce has been down played quite a bit nowadays anyway. They won't boot you from the church if you get divorced, at least not from what I have seen.
As someone brought up in the report, it has nothing to do being conservative/liberal. Its about people getting married young, failure to communicate to work out problems, etc.
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It's funny reading some of the posts that people are making in response. You can tell this is a statistic that really hits home and strikes a nerve. Neo-cons are quick to point out the faults of others but when the finger points back at them they suddenly run and hide from the bright light of exposure.
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So yeah Bill sticks a cigar up Monica's pooper and Hillary hangs in there. Got to be love,.
Because democrats don't marry, they just have big orgies.
It's funny reading some of the posts that people are making in response. You can tell this is a statistic that really hits home and strikes a nerve. Neo-cons are quick to point out the faults of others but when the finger points back at them they suddenly run and hide from the bright light of exposure.
You could say that about literally every single group of people on the face of the Earth.
Your argument is like a two legged dog with an eating disorder...weak and unbalanced.
A low divorce rate does not make a group of people morally superior. I know plenty of people who've cheated on their spouses, but oh heaven forbid they get any kind of divorce because it's morally wrong. There are some wierd traditions running around.
People who have to create conspiracy and hate threads to further a cause lacks in intellectual comprehension of diversity.
It's funny reading some of the posts that people are making in response. You can tell this is a statistic that really hits home and strikes a nerve. Neo-cons are quick to point out the faults of others but when the finger points back at them they suddenly run and hide from the bright light of exposure.
Actually, I found the opposite to be true. The Libs are so quick to point out the faults of others; hence, the very reason why the article was even published. Trust me, it wasn't a socialogical glance at Anthropology amongst Red States.
People who have to create conspiracy and hate threads to further a cause lacks in intellectual comprehension of diversity.
Dear Abby,
My husband is a liar and a cheat. He has cheated on me from the beginning, and, when I confront him, he denies everything. What's worse, everyone knows that he cheats on me. It is so humiliating.
Also, since he lost his job six years ago, he hasn't even looked for a new one. All he does all day is smoke cigars, cruise around and hangout with his buddies while I have to work to pay the bills.
Since our daughter went away to college he doesn't even pretend to like me and hints that I may be a lesbian.
What should I do?
Signed: Clueless
Dear Clueless,
Grow up and dump him. Good grief, woman. You don't need him anymore!
You're a United States Senator from New York running for President of the United States. Act like one!
Trade in material assumptions for spiritual facts and make permanent progress.
The article is a blatantly partisan hit piece against what it calls "Conservative Christians."
It focuses on two things (religion and politics) and ignores all other factors.
Correlation does not imply causation. This article's logic is like saying "People who go to emergency rooms are much more likely to die in the next 3 months than people who don't.Therefore emergency rooms must be killing people."
Mississippi has a high poverty rate, that must be because they're so religious down there. Mississippi has a hot, humid climate, that must be because they're so religious and conservative down there.
and I Lol'ed @ the November 2004 date on the article. Scraping the bottom of the barrel, huh gnome?
Saying it has any direct link to political stance is a pretty big stretch for me. However, living in a very "red" area but originally coming from a "blue" area, I can honestly say this doesn't really surprise me. It doesn't have to do with the political stances, it has to do with the people themselves.
I know I'm generalizing here, and please don't think I'm saying that ALL people are like this, but from what I've seen from the eight years I've lived in Tennessee is that too great a number of the people here are incredibly hypocritical in terms of their personal views. They claim to be die-hard Christians who believe that Jesus loves all and you should treat others as you'd like to be treated, but these same people are the ones to taunt a mentally retarded kid walking down the hallway or make physical threats to people significantly weaker than them. These same people almost always happen to be very conservative. Does this mean that they're being hypocritical BECAUSE they're Christian/Conservative? No, it's just the way many people (NOT ALL! DON'T ACCUSE ME OF SAYING ALL ARE LIKE THIS!) in the south are (sadly) raised today. I don't know how or why this has happened over time, but the number of people I see like this are astonishing.
If you want to break it down further, you could say that it's ultimately due to the worse state of education in the south as opposed to the north. In general, the southeastern states (typically the most "red") have some of the worst education in the nation, and it's not surprising that kids raised in an environment that's afraid to talk about sex or marriage (god forbid divorce or gay marriage) in public would grow up more likely to be in a divorce. When people are raised to think that certain topics are taboo, they're less likely to talk about them in marriage as well, which leads to communication problems, which can lead to divorce. After going to school in the north, I know from experience that such topics are talked about much more openly there. This may make it easier for kids who grow up in the north to talk about them with their spouse, and we all know that if you're afraid to talk about something, you're going to have a hard time avoiding it. But maybe I'm analyzing here too much.
Regardless, there's a million and a half reasons that the divorce rate could be lower in "blue" states than "red," and saying that it's simply because Democrats are less likely to get divorced than Republicans is ignorant.
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I'll tell yah why!
One, hey, how can you get divorced if you're not married? We know how those states are and just shacking up like a couple of roosters together!
Two, hey, how can you get divorced if the state won't let you? Yep, that's a shout out to all you rainbow followers!
Three, hey, how can you get divorced if you have an open, polyamorous relationship? Yep, all you swingers, we know!
Four, hey, how can you get divorced if you're the Clintons? Yep, to all...Actually it's just to Bill and Hillary. We're lookin at you Presidente's!
Five, hey, what's the point in getting divorced when you can just ask Uncle Vinny to deal with it for you? All north eastern states, we know you like the mafioso like a fat kid loves a twinkie, and we know you don't have a problem with murder!
And that children, is the one through fives of why divorce is lower in ones liberal enviroment!
"Fear not death; for the sooner we die, the longer shall we be immortal."
Kentucky, Mississippi and Arkansas <---- I'm pretty sure that is where poor people live also. Money is one of the biggest issues involved in failing marriages . Guess what ,conservative christians , especially in those states, are not the richest part of the US population.
It just proves even Christians can't stand each other.
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"When Saddam flew that plane into those buildings, I knew it was time to kick some Iranian ass!"
-cheer leading, flag waving American
where is the white states ? lol colors!!!
While the article was a valid assessment of marital trends in the United States, the OP's decision to name the thread as it is was deliberately provocative.
Likewise, accusations that liberals have low divorce rates because they don't get married and have sex all the time is equally stupid. So is the implied statement that gays, by definition, are liberal.
Grow the hell up, and start treating people who disagree with you like people. That applies to both sides.
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Gore '08
It's funny reading some of the posts that people are making in response. You can tell this is a statistic that really hits home and strikes a nerve. Neo-cons are quick to point out the faults of others but when the finger points back at them they suddenly run and hide from the bright light of exposure.
You could say that about literally every single group of people on the face of the Earth.
Absolutely true, to some extent or other. But I believe in generalities when it comes to groups. I find generalities to be a very useful tool. Statistics is a very useful tool and relies heavily on generalities.Now, with that in mind, when you look at this statistic it reveals something about neo-cons that they spend a lot of time and effort trying to portray a different way. And, like I said, when the statistics say differently they run and hide. Usually, that hiding is done by the use of finger pointing towards the other group as a tactic of distraction. And before you say, "well Democrats do it too", (which essentially proves my point), let me say I agree. Democrats do it too. So, how is that an argument, pray tell?
And lately, there has been a lot that both of the major parties can be shameful of. But we've got a group of people who make it their bread and butter to be "holier than thou". And when a group makes that their battle cry then they better be ready for some slinging coming back at them.
Why retreat? Stand up for your neo-con brothers and sisters in their divorce rate. If it sucks for your group, then do something about it. I would start by focusing on your groups divorce rate instead of blaming everything on gays, atheists, agnostics, and liberals. It seems that goes against one of those great conservative ideologies of personal responsibility. But then again, the neo-cons aren't really for those traditional conservative ideologies so much anymore.
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It's funny reading some of the posts that people are making in response. You can tell this is a statistic that really hits home and strikes a nerve. Neo-cons are quick to point out the faults of others but when the finger points back at them they suddenly run and hide from the bright light of exposure.
Actually, I found the opposite to be true. The Libs are so quick to point out the faults of others; hence, the very reason why the article was even published. Trust me, it wasn't a socialogical glance at Anthropology amongst Red States.
And like I told Draenor, that's no excuse. Pointing the finger back at the other group instead of cleaning your own house does not win the argument for you.The statistic is there. If it's shameful, then do something about it. Using diversion does not make it right.
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Well, then to save marriage in those states, perhaps they should ban straight divorce!
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Damn I was about to say that.
Hmm... I live in a red state, but I haven't really noticed a high ammount of divorces, then again it isn't something I really cared to notice anyway.
Maybe it is just me, but a high divorce rate doesn't bother me, I think it is better to get a divorce than to stay in a unhappy marriage.
Then again I am an athiest libertarian who never wants to be married, so my opinion may be too different then other people in my state to actually be representative of anything.
Don't you worry little buddy. You're dealing with a man of honor. However, honor requires a higher percentage of profit