Married couples who attend church services frequently are happier and more likely to succeed in their marriages than those who don’t attend church often or not at all, according to a recent study.
“[R]esearch suggests that not only do churchgoing husbands enjoy happier marriages but also that their wives are more likely to experience marital happiness, compared to married couples where husbands do not attend religious services on a regular basis,” said W. Bradford Wilcox, a sociologist at the University of Virginia, explaining his research results.
According to the study, 70 percent of husbands who attend church regularly say they are “very happy” in their marriages, compared to only 59 percent of husbands who do not attend religious services. For women, the figures were similar, with a majority of those who attend church services reporting to be happier than those who do not.
"Churches supply moral norms like sexual fidelity and forgiveness, family-friendly social networks that lend support to couples facing the ordinary joys and challenges of married life, and a faith that helps couples make sense of the difficulties in their lives-from unemployment to illness-that can harm their marriages,” Wilcox told Cybercast News Service.
While critics say that the survey is inaccurate and only proves that couples who already enjoy stable marriages attend church, Wilcox said that the power of faith and its role in marital relationships cannot be diminished.
"Men and women who hold a religious faith and put that faith into practice by attending church on a regular basis do look different in the marital realm," Wilcox said.
"So, in a word, the couple that prays together stays together," he added.
Comments
"And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching" (Heb 10:24, 25).
Many go to church and consider themselves obedient and doing well, but going to a church does not mean that one is assembling. True assembly is not bound to four walls and a denomination. Jesus said, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them" (Mt 18:20).
True assembly that is beneficial will contain, among other things, that which is found in Hebrew 10:24 and 25: a time of considering one another to provoke unto love and to good works, a time of exhortation.
Sadly, many individuals are attending assemblies where the presence of God is never felt, and the word of God is not being preached under the anointing of the Holy Ghost.
In closing, one of the greatest elements missing in many assemblies is the fear and reverence of God: "God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him" (Ps 89:7).
I see the problem with divorce in the Christian community as being a lack of commitment to God and His word and then a lack of commitment to the family, and this society of selfishness and pride. "I deserve better." "She/he wont clean." "He/she wont have sex as often as I like." "He/she complains all the time." "We have grown apart." "We do not have anything in common." "He/she has put on weight." etc. etc. etc.
People, EVERYTHING is NOT always the OTHER person's fault. We all have faults. We each need to grow in emotional and spiritual maturity. But I believe that one of the reasons God instituted marriage was to teach us more about HIM. Just as God is a trinity, so too is marriage - between man, woman, and God. Being married and having children teaches us more about God and HIS LOVE FOR US than anything else I have experienced. But when we allow our churches to become microcosms of the society, our congregants and the church suffer.
Attending church does not equate to being a Christian. But Christians are required to join together (granted, it could be a house church for all I care) to encourage one another (Hebrews 10:25). Christians NEED to sharpen one another as iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17). How else can we confess our faults to one another and pray for one another (James 5:16)?
It is easy to fall prey to the adversary, who prowls the earth like a lion (1 Peter 5:8). This society of instant gratification makes us believe the fairy tales of a cinderella marriage and prince charming. But the facts are, that we all change. We all get on each others' nerves. We all have different fears, desires, priorities. God made us that way, and society has influenced us to believe differently. We each have roles in marriage that need to be well defined, well communicated, and well respected. When things get hard, our society has taught us to cut and run, while God calls us to pray and stand firm. We are to mentor and teach each other (particularly the elder to the younger) - this is what Paul taught in Titus 2. Unfortunately, we ignore this in our churches.
wr, totally agree and that is why I believe we have so many dead and stagnant churches, too many are there because they have to as opposed to because they desire to be there. But at the same time if someone professes to be a Christian and has no desire to fellowship with other believers then there is a problem too include the possibility they have not had a genuine conversion experience.
ID4234
The scripture you have quoted in Hebrews is often taken out of context in order to satisfy the argument that one must go to church.
Attending church is for edification and encouragement. It is assumed that you are a true believer if you are going to church for these reasons.
If you are attending church because you think the Word of God tells you to, then it is done out of obligation. This is where the Israelites got confused when it came to following the Law.
Redemption is not in the letter of the Law, it is rather in the Spirit of the Law.
To pgcfriend
Not attending services is not applying the Word. You can't "apply the Word" if you choose to do the opposite of what the Word says do. And it says "forsake not the assembling of yourselves together." Hebrews 10:25
Other scriptures that relate to the importance of attending with other believers: Psalms 92:13; Psalms 42:4.
pgcfriend: Though I agree with you in theory, I may disagree with you in the following statement, "People that apply the word, whether attending services or not, will mature and become better people." I agree that people who are truly in the Word will have a stronger foundation and less likely to fall in times of trial and testing. However, to "forsake the assembly of the brethren" causes a lack of accountability. I guarantee that people who DO NOT attend church service and felowship with other beleivers are more than likely NOT in the Word and use the whole "I can worship God wherever" bit as a statement to justify there actions. Does that mean that divorce is not prevalent amongst church goers? On the contrary. You can go to church and still wind up in a divorce. However, church, fellowship, accountability and truly studying the Word, gives a marriage a stronger foundation that can become "divorce proof."
pg, as a pastor I've seen exactly what your referring to, couples who regularly attended church but still wound up divorcing. And I agree that if they are only filling a pew and not truly applying God's Word to both their individual and married lives, church attendance doesn't matter. Where I tend to disagree is individuals or couples who say they are Christians trying to do it alone or as you said without being a part of a local church. God created us for relationships, most importantly with Him, but as believers with other believers as well. I think the article would have been more accurate to say is that Christian couples who have strong healthy marriages are actively involved in a local church as opposed to church attendance is a key to a strong marriage. Please note I define church as a group of believers coming together to worship God, to study His Word, to fellowship with other believers, and to effectively take the Gospel to their world.
Attending services does not equate to spiritual growth. Every Christian couple that I know, EVERY CHRISTIAN COUPLE, that got divorced regularly attended church services and at times volunteered. They need to come up with something better than this. People stay married when they commit to each other. The lost do this also. It does help when both parties are maturing in their walks of course, but church attendance does not mature a person. People that apply the word, whether attending services or not, will mature and become better people.
Choices: Those who desire to grow in their spiritual walks and marriages will want to attend worship services.
Those who attend worship services are encouraged in their spiritual walks and marriages and grow as a result.
Such spiritual growth encourages further desire to attend worship services and to grow deeper more stable marriages.
What's so difficult to understand?