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Cultural Effects on and from Divorce

Divorce can be very difficult to process psychologically, financially, and socially, but

what most people don't think about is how culture can affect and can be affected by a divorce.

Culture is everything about a person; Characteristics such as ethnicity and religion define who a

person is. These characteristics can be an influential factor in a marriage, but can also affect

and/or be affected by a divorce. Divorce is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “The legal

dissolution of a marriage by a court or other competent body.” Research that will be further

analyzed has shown that culture, especially in the United States, can have a great impact on

divorce, as well as vice versa. These impacts are controversial and not well highly considered

when discussing divorce, which is why it is important to consider a different perspective. The

origin of marriage can be seen as far back as 1250, implying that over the years, many people

around the globe have been able to marry for quite some time (Stritof). The history of marriage

can lead to the belief that certain cultures have more experience in the practice, which may

correlate to a change in marriage and/or divorce rates.

From an ethnic perspective, nationality can influence a relationship to the point of

marriage, but how many of these marriages actually last? R. Kelly Raley, Megan M. Sweeney,

and Danielle Wondra, all of whom have Ph.D.’s, wrote a scholarly article about the growing

racial and ethnic divide in U.S. marriage patterns, stating the fact that “...compared to both white

and Hispanic women, black women marry later in life, are less likely to marry at all, and have

higher rates of marital instability” (Raley, et al.). Regardless of later age at first marriage and

lower proportions ever marrying, black women also have relatively high rates of marital
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instability. At nearly every age, divorce rates are higher for black than for white women (Raley,

et al.). This may conclude that the average black child may have a statistically higher chance of

having divorced parents than a white person. In a Washington Post article written by Ana

Swanson, a staff writer with an M.A. in international relations, Swanson reports on American

marriage and divorce statistics based on employment status, educations, and most importantly,

race. According to the statistics, 37% of white people end up having at least one divorce, 42% of

black people with the same result, along with 29% of Hispanics, 17% of Asian, and 45% of

Native Americans (although this may be due to the lack of Native American population)

(Swanson). The percentages show that the average black and Native American child may

statistically have a higher chance of having divorced parents of other races.

Along with ethnicity being part of one’s culture, religion can also be a big contributor to

whom you marry, or even divorce. Christianity, specifically Catholicism, for example, believes

that God hates divorce, and that the only two reasons to get a divorce are if a spouse is

unfaithful, or a spouse abandons their partner (Provda). This could create the stereotype that

Christians refrain from divorce as much as possible. Meanwhile, Buddhism believes that both

sexes are given the freedom to separate if they cannot agree with each other and Buddhism

teaches that separation is preferable over a lifetime of misery (Provda). This could infer that

Buddhism may show a higher divorce rate than others. Contrary to the belief that Christians have

a lower divorce rate an article written by Bruce A. Robinson, who has written over 6000 articles

on Religious Tolerance, states that during a conducted study, “Divorce rates among conservative

Christians were significantly higher than for other faith groups standing at 51% (combining

born-again christians with other christians), and much higher than Atheists and Agnostics
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experience with 21%. These percentages influence the correlation that a higher religious

involvement leads to a higher divorce rate. For Christians, this may leave many who have been

divorced in the situation that the climate in their church is very negative towards divorcing

couples (Robinson). So, they move to other congregations that are either more accepting of

divorce, or are unaware of their marital status (Robinson). Another possible outcome is that

many couples would find it difficult to continue attending services in the same church after their

marital separation (Robinson). In result, they may drop out completely. This is one of many

results of religion making a big impact before and after a divorce.

Similarly, a scholarly article written by Kimiko Tanaka, an associate professor of

sociology at James Madison University, conducted a study involving the outcomes of religious

beliefs after divorce. A conclusion that Tanaka found was that “Among married respondents,

controlling for previous religious involvement, divorce experience during middle age reduced the

chance of being publicly involved with religion at the end of middle age.” Another conclusion

found that experiencing divorce before the middle age did not have a significant effect on

religious attendance at the end of middle age, however, divorce experience during middle age

did” (Tanaka). This may have a correlation to what the religious beliefs of divorced couple’s

child might be, since their definition of middle age (35 to 53) is where a child tends to be at least

10 years old, which is old enough to comprehend the emotional trauma of parental divorce. 10

years of age is also old enough to be able to correlate divorce with religion, which may bring the

child into a state of confusions religiously as well.

A different scholarly source written by Dr. Jeremy Uecker and Dr. Christopher Ellison,

both of whom have a Ph.D. in sociology, describes how divorce can influence religious
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outcomes in adulthood, especially for children. The authors state that “There are numerous

explanations for why parental divorce may be associated with lower religiosity among adult

offspring. Most directly, parental divorce can be emotionally trying for many children, and those

negative emotions may express themselves as anger towards God, leading to disassociation from

or diminished involvement in religion” (Uecker, et al.). Uecker and Ellison also state that

“Children of divorced parents also may not be able to reconcile religious teachings that

emphasize the sanctity of marriage with their own family experience and may devalue their

religion as a means of resolving such cognitive dissonance.” As previously stated, this

disconnection of religion could lead to a lower chance of divorce during adulthood due to the

correlation between religious involvement and divorce rates. Closely related to the previous two

sources, these are all possible results of religious outcomes of divorce found in the couples

getting divorced and even the children of them.

Culture is an influential factor when it comes to marriage and divorce, more so than most

people think. Whether culture involves one into a marriage or causes a divorce, there is evidence

of its impact. Ethnicity and religion, specifically the involvement into a marriage and the result

after the divorce are one of many concerns before and after the marital separation, and can lead

to other occurrences in the future.

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Work Cited

“Divorce | Definition of Divorce in English by Oxford Dictionaries.” Oxford Dictionaries |

English, Oxford Dictionaries, ​en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/divorce.

Provda, Bruce. “How Different Religions View Divorce in America.” The Christian Post,

Christian Post, 18 June 2015,

www.christianpost.com/news/how-different-religions-view-divorce-in-america-140579/​.

Raley, R. Kelly, et al. “The Growing Racial and Ethnic Divide in U.S. Marriage Patterns.” The

Future of Children / Center for the Future of Children, the David and Lucile Packard

Foundation, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2015,

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4850739/​.

Rich, Tracey R. “Divorce.” Judaism 101: Divorce, Judaism 101, ​www.jewfaq.org/divorce.htm​.

Robinson, Bruce A. “U.S. Divorce Rates for Various Faith Groups, Age Groups, and Geographic

Areas.” Religious Tolerance, Religious Tolerance, 27 Apr. 2000,

www.religioustolerance.org/chr_dira.htm​.

Stritof, Sheri. “How Marriage Handled the Needs of Ancient Societies Throughout History.” The

Spruce, The Spruce, 18 Feb. 2018, ​www.thespruce.com/history-of-marriage-2300616

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Swanson, Ana. “Who Gets Divorced in America, in 7 Charts.” The Washington Post, WP

Company, 6 Apr. 2016,

www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/04/06/who-gets-divorced-in-america-in-

7-charts/?utm_term=.864b77874b93​.

Tanaka, Kimiko. “The Effect of Divorce Experience on Religious Involvement: Implications for

Later Health Lifestyle.” Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, U.S. National Library of

Medicine, 2010, ​www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2857783/​.

Uecker, Jeremy E., and Christopher G. Ellison. “Parental Divorce, Parental Religious

Characteristics, and Religious Outcomes in Adulthood.” Journal for the Scientific Study

of Religion, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Dec. 2012,

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3555139/