Date
2-2013
Department
Rawlings School of Divinity
Degree
Doctor of Ministry (DMin)
Chair
Charlie Davidson
Primary Subject Area
Psychology, General; Psychology, Behavioral; Religion, General; Religion, Clergy
Keywords
divorce, marriage, premarital counseling
Disciplines
Christianity | Comparative Methodologies and Theories | Counseling Psychology | Religion
Recommended Citation
Vail, Scott, "Reducing the Divorce Rate among Christians in America: Making Premarital Counseling Prerequisite for Marriage" (2013). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 643.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/643
Abstract
God instituted the covenant of marriage to provide the means by which two individuals become one for life. This covenant between a man and a woman is intended to satisfy the God-given longing each person has to love and be loved for a lifetime. The reality is, according to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2008, the divorce rate in America is nearly fifty percent. To remedy this, the church must require a formal premarital program as a prerequisite for marriage. The result would be fewer divorces and an increase in marital satisfaction. Resources formerly consumed by counseling and ministering to troubled marriages and families would be available to minister in other areas. Surveys will be sent to couples having participated in a formal premarital counseling program confirming their divorce rate is lower, and their satisfaction higher, than those who did not participate in a premarital program.
Included in
Christianity Commons, Comparative Methodologies and Theories Commons, Counseling Psychology Commons
