Children of Divorce and Evangelical Churches by Steve Watters on 10/10/2006 at 3:14 PM

Does divorce repel young adults from or attract them to Evangelical churches?

Last week, the New York Times ran a cover story (requires registration) about the fear that teens are not returning to Evangelical churches after high school. The article reflects some of the concern George Barna raised recently (and blogged about here).

One point the article makes in passing, however, is that divorce is disconnecting some teenagers from church. It reads: “Divorced parents and dysfunctional families also lead some teenagers to avoid church entirely or to drift away.” This is consistent with an observation Ron Deal (Director of Successful Stepfamilies) has made; that divorced families often feel less comfortable and welcome in church after going through a divorce.

Glenn Stanton, a colleague and marriage expert here at Focus on the Family, found a contrary view to this theory. Glenn sent an email pointing out an observation made by Elizabeth Marquardt
(director of the Center for Marriage and Families at the Institute for American Values): 

On pages 156-157of her book, Between Two Worlds: The Inner Lives of Children of Divorce, Elizabeth explains that adult children of divorce are twice as likely as children from intact families to feel they are more religious than their mothers and fathers ever were. The most popular choice among these young people of divorce is evangelicalism and Elizabeth surmises it is because of "the willingness of evangelical churches to openly discuss the problems with divorce while also welcoming divorced people." Another reason, she wonders, is the evangelical emphasis on God as the saving Father and young adults of divorce being "more likely to say they think of God as the father or parent they never had."

Among our readers who have gone through the divorce of their parents, I wonder which experience has been stronger -- feeling disconnected from an Evangelical church or feeling drawn in.

Children of Divorce and Evangelical Churches by Steve Watters on 10/10/2006 at 3:14 PM

Does divorce repel young adults from or attract them to Evangelical churches?

Last week, the New York Times ran a cover story (requires registration) about the fear that teens are not returning to Evangelical churches after high school. The article reflects some of the concern George Barna raised recently (and blogged about here).

One point the article makes in passing, however, is that divorce is disconnecting some teenagers from church. It reads: “Divorced parents and dysfunctional families also lead some teenagers to avoid church entirely or to drift away.” This is consistent with an observation Ron Deal (Director of Successful Stepfamilies) has made; that divorced families often feel less comfortable and welcome in church after going through a divorce.

Glenn Stanton, a colleague and marriage expert here at Focus on the Family, found a contrary view to this theory. Glenn sent an email pointing out an observation made by Elizabeth Marquardt
(director of the Center for Marriage and Families at the Institute for American Values): 

On pages 156-157of her book, Between Two Worlds: The Inner Lives of Children of Divorce, Elizabeth explains that adult children of divorce are twice as likely as children from intact families to feel they are more religious than their mothers and fathers ever were. The most popular choice among these young people of divorce is evangelicalism and Elizabeth surmises it is because of "the willingness of evangelical churches to openly discuss the problems with divorce while also welcoming divorced people." Another reason, she wonders, is the evangelical emphasis on God as the saving Father and young adults of divorce being "more likely to say they think of God as the father or parent they never had."

Among our readers who have gone through the divorce of their parents, I wonder which experience has been stronger -- feeling disconnected from an Evangelical church or feeling drawn in.