Some may read the title and think, “Well, duh!”
Divorce, or more accurately, the ease with which people can now be granted a divorce may very well be one of the main reasons marriages fail. You might wonder if I got it backwards. Marriages –particularly bad ones- lead to divorce, but divorce doesn’t lead to a bad marriage, right?
It depends. Easy or “no-fault” divorce may in fact lead people to look at marriage with the attitude of, “If I don’t like it, I can always get out of it.” That’s not the way marriage was intended to be undertaken, but hey, there’s a ton of money to be made from divorce.
The main tenet of marriage vows is very clear and has been for centuries. The final statement declares a sworn promise to stay with one’s spouse, “until death us do part” (or similar variations of language with the same meaning). By creating the easy out or no-fault divorce, the vow, or the contract entered into, has been at best watered down, and at worst irrevocably damaged.
No fault divorce has hurt countless families, especially children. Several studies show that it may have led to increased divorce rates by as much as 20-25%. Easy divorces are obviously not the only problem or the number would be higher, but a 20-25% percent increase is certainly significant.
No fault divorce also neglects to hold anyone responsible if adultery or abuses had a role in ending the marriage. It’s somewhat like a get out of marriage free card. It’s not technically free, at least not financially, but perhaps it is freer and easier than it needs to be. I would probably feel differently if it only affected adults. Unfortunately, many children are hurt when one spouse simply decides to walk away, and the courts make it easy for them.
Other hot topics regarding marriage:
Should the Government Have a Say in Marriage?
Staying Together for the Kids… Really?
Is One of the First Gay Marriages Ending Already?
What if Your Spouse’s Affair Made the News?