'Red' States Have Higher Divorce Rates Than 'Blue' States, And Here's Why
New Study Finds That Divorce Rates Are Higher in Counties with a Greater Concentration of Conservative Christians
"Demographers Jennifer Glass at the University of Texas and Philip Levchak at the University of Iowa looked at the entire map of the United States, going county by county, to examine where divorces occurred in 2000 and what the characteristics of those counties were. Their work confirms that one of the strongest factors predicting divorce rates (per 1000 married couples) is the concentration of conservative or evangelical Protestants in that county."
Trends in teen births in U.S.:
20 comments:
These are "my way or the highway" people and their partners are choosing the highway.
Figures. Taboo on sex before marriage means pressure to get married early which means a lot of people getting married before they have the experience or savvy to make a good choice of a long-term commitment -- and thus making choices they later regret.
Of course the same factors were at work in earlier generations, but when divorce was very difficult, they stayed stuck in bad marriages (plus, people didn't live as long).
I notice a distinct lack of correlation of higher divorce rates with states where gay marriage has become legal, despite the "threat to marriage" the fundies keep claiming it represents.
The teen birth map is even easier to understand. The teenage-pregnancy rate in Texas has predictably surged since abstinence-only sex education was introduced, and most of the rest of those states are "the usual suspects" for such policies.
Jerry, Infidel753 gave a good explanation for the reason the Bible Belt has the highest divorce and out-of-wedlock rates in the nation.
If a teen gets pregnant, she's probably forced into marrying, and for the most part, those types of marriages don't last.
Massachusetts, the first to recognize marriage equality, has the lowest divorce rate and unwed motherhood rate in the country, and it is also among the states with the fewest people who identify as believers.
Strangely, we "libtards" actually do a better job in the area of "sanctity of marriage" than the Bible Belt folks.
But they'd rather choke on their hypocrisy than admit that fact.
Someone ought to tell Mike Huckabee that he should look in his own backyard for those wymmens with those out-of-control libidos. And the rest of the out-of their-minds rightwing politicians should rethink that "aspirin between her knees" form of birth control.
It is simply the same old story, or situation if you prefer, that those who need to grasp and understand the facts will remain the ones most in denial.
Apparently aspirin allows for too large a gap between the knees. Time to understand a very thin sheet of paper between the knees would be much more effective.
What Jerry said, "sex before marriage"
....if I remember correctly, that was some pretty good sanctified stuff! Marriage kinda took the shine off it. Sex AFTER divorce wasn't so bad. Frankly, sex without marriage should be the norm. I think marriage should be abolished. Then only outlaws will get married. And how come you don't need a photo ID to have sex, but Conservatives want you to have one to vote? Sheesh, too cold to think. Time for a beer. Beer is Holy, everything else is just water.
Actually, okjimm, the cons may soon pass legislation that WILL require a photo ID before you're allowed to have sex. That way they can keep an eyecount on how many times those "out-of-control-libido" women are, y'know, DOING IT!
Re beer: As I understand it, you only rent it.
Huckabee has taken Limbaugh's material and couched it in language of his concept of fundamental Biblicism. We guess
both dudes might be candidaterabbits
for the silly Quiverfull movemement.
BB-Idaho,
I'd vaguely heard of the "Quiverfull" movement but had no idea of what it truly was about.
Do all cultures go through periods like this? On the one hand, we've made amazing technological progress; and yet, we find these regressive type, like the Quiverfulls, engaging in behaviors that are against their best self-interests.
Won't someone tell these unfortunate people that no matter how many children they bear, the demographics show that we will soon be a nation of mixed-races and the old white supremacy will be history?
There's nothing inherently wrong with that. We'll still all be Americans. Why can't they understand that?
Shaw...you're right about renting beer....but if you can not afford to own a brewery...eh.
Shaw: Do all cultures go through periods like this? On the one hand, we've made amazing technological progress; and yet, we find these regressive type, like the Quiverfulls, engaging in behaviors that are against their best self-interests.
Extremist religious movements are a reaction to the fear of serious challenge to a traditionally-dominant religious value system. It's no coincidence that fundamentalism as a major political force in its own right emerged with the Moral Majority in the wake of the sexual revolution of the 1960s and the beginning of gay liberation in the 1970s -- and that it has just grown in virulence and hysteria in response to defeats such as the spread of gay marriage and the normalization of abortion.
Hard-line Islamist movements and terrorist organizations like al-Qâ'idah arose in response to the spread of Western cultural influence in the Middle East (especially with the internet), which led young people there to want more independence from the strictures of Islamic tradition. One could argue that the same is starting to happen in India with the BJP, though I'm not nearly so familiar with India.
Progress is inexorable, but the more these religious extremist groups see society moving away from their preferred model, the more agitated and radicalized they get, especially since the less extreme tend to abandon the movements, leaving only the most hard-line behind. They get more radical as they get fewer. Eventually they'll disappear, but it will take a while. Weird times are ahead.
Throughout our history we've witnessed several "Great Awakenings."
I think the last one, to which you referred as the reaction to the sexual revolution, gay liberation, and women's rights, is dying out. More and more young people do not identify with a particular religion, and they certainly do not support the sort of discrimination and bigotry their parents and grandparents held for the gay community.
okjimm, one of my parent's favorite singer was a beer. I think her name was Teresa Brewery.
okjimm,
Do outlaws who get married have in-laws?
They are in and out laws.
shaw, Octo, Jerry...
youse guys break me up !
...and...at this moment...I needed that. More snow here...see, it won't just 'blizzard'..it keeps dropping 2-4 inches of snow, gets colder than Dick Cheny's heart...waits a few days and comes back with a couple more inches.
and..truly I am sick to death of this 'save' marriage shit.I got married,once. It was a wreck. I had to call AAA to get towed. It makes more sense to save the whales. Whales are peaceful and mostly eat plankton. And we all now plankton are just a bunch of sicko,commie,socialist,football watching,doughnut eating liberals.
Don't believe me? Watch a little of Rush Limbaugh...now he is a whale of a joke.
okjimm, here in Beantown, or South North Pole as we refer to it, we had a warming spell. The temp got up to 16 degrees F today!
It's so cold here that the flashers are only describing themselves.
I find it interesting how the "save the marriage" people actually want to restrict marriage to fewer people. But then, the GOP is primarily interested in restricting things...marriage, sex, health care, voting rights, equal rights, economic recovery, gun safety, etc. The list goes on and on.
It is cooler here in Southern California today too. It barely broke 70°F.
Jerry, my daughter lives in SoCal. She doesn't talk to me about her "weather woes" and 70 degree "discomfort," because it makes her mother sob.
"...the GOP is primarily interested in restricting things...marriage, sex, health care, voting rights, equal rights, economic recovery, gun safety, etc. The list goes on and on."
That's why so many Americans repulsed by them. They still don't get the message.
Local weather report:
Sunny, water temperature 82 degrees, and a school of willowy angelfish with out-of-control libidos.
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