Why does America lead the world in divorce?
Why are the HOMES of British, Australian and American people falling apart?
WHY is MARITAL HAPPINESS such an elusive, rare thing today?
Read, in this straight-from-the‑shoulder article,
the real answers to these vital questions,
and the real SECRET to a HAPPY MARRIAGE!
AN INSIDIOUS disease is gnawing at the vitals of our society! That disease is marital unhappiness, and divorce!
Uncountable books, magazines and newspaper articles have attacked the problem from every conceivable angle. Sociologists have attempted to uncover the cause of divorce, and marital counselors by the scores and hundreds have used every means at their disposal to save shattered marriages from divorce.
All of these combined influences have seemed to have little, if any, influence.
Divorce a Gigantic Problem
Just how serious is the divorce problem in the United States, Britain, and Australia? The shocking statistics answer plainly. Divorce, with all its resulting heartache, court squabbles and homeless children, is one of the most monumental sociological problems of our times!
In the United States, presently leading the world in divorce, nearly one out of every three homes has known the heart-sickening experience of the divorce courts! In Los Angeles County, there is one divorce for every marriage!
The Family Service Association of America said recently, "Family breakdown is fast reaching epidemic proportions and now ranks as America's No. 1 social problem." Each year, there are 786,000 persons divorced. The current divorce rate is seven times higher than it was 100 years ago! There are an estimated 100,000 desertions each year — all this in ADDITION to the actual recorded divorces.
The illegitimacy rate has tripled since 1938. Each year, there are more than 200,000 illegitimate babies born in the United States alone! Another closely linked problem, that of juvenile delinquency, has nearly tripled since 1940. Besides these staggering facts on divorce and the home, many other serious problems in human relationships, problems of the family have been revealed by recent studies.
Behind these awesome statistics are human beings, whole families, whose lives have become distorted, twisted, wretched things! Little children crying "Mommy — don't leave me!" Boys and girls wondering what their choice will be when they are asked with which parent they would rather live, teenagers knowing no homes, thousands of youths living with "foster parents" or being placed in institutions.
Truly, as this Family Service Association has said, family breakdown is fast reaching EPIDEMIC PROPORTIONS!
LIFE magazine said recently, "No other civilized nation comes even close to the U.S. divorce rate. We have three times as many divorces each year, allowing for differences in population, as nations like England, France, Finland and Australia, and four to six times as many as Canada, Belgium, Norway and the Netherlands."
Every time the clock ticks off 90 seconds, another American home is broken by divorce! There were more than 1,000 divorce decrees granted each day last year in the United States!
Are these statistics shocking? Are they staggering? They most certainly are.
You need DESPERATELY to understand the basic REASON for divorce, to understand the underlying cause of unhappy marriages, and to know what you can be DOING about it in your own home!
Sociologists Search for the Cause
Some very revealing facts have been brought to light by recent studies of representative groups all over the world. For instance, it was found in London, England, that vast percentages of supposedly "happily married people" would very readily SWAP PARTNERS, and that great percentages of these married people openly admitted they would not marry their present mates again!
But why?
The answers are varied — and every one of them actually APPLIES. For instance, it was found almost 90 out of 100 divorce cases statistically prove that people are head over heels in debt.
Another major factor which has been singled out was the high incidence of younger marriages taking place in the world today. For example, last June's marrying couples averaged the youngest in the nation's history!
It was proved divorce occurs six times more often among those who marry under the age of 21 than among the 21-plus brides and grooms. Another major contributing factor in the high teen marriage-divorce rate was, according to one authority, that 53 per cent were forced into marriage as a result of premarital pregnancy.
Hugo A. Bordeaux, executive director of the Marriage Counseling Service, Baltimore, Maryland, said, "All over America, husbands and wives cannot talk to each other. This, I am convinced, is our No. 1 marriage problem . . . (Emphasis mine).
The Institute of Family Relations in Los Angeles lists sexual maladjustment as the leading cause of marital discord. One study of 500 consecutive unsuccessful marriages found all but one placed the blame on sex!
An internationally conducted UNESCO poll recently revealed that 60 per cent of American and European married women feel deceived, frustrated, unhappy and dissatisfied — mainly, they believe — because no one really understands them!
These are just a few of the MAJOR causes listed by leading institutes and study groups for the rampant problems of divorce.
All of them, to a certain degree, are absolutely true! However, no single ONE of them provides the whole answer.
Can we learn a lesson from history? Let's look at the world's FIRST marriage for a moment — let's investigate the real HISTORY of marriage, and find what is the real TRUTH!
The World's First Marriage
This was a marriage designed by GOD. It was a marriage totally unique, unlike any other in many ways.
The man was a perfect physical specimen. Adam was undoubtedly in vital, virile, dynamic good health — with PERFECT muscular development, a good, sound, solid body that was flawless except for one missing rib!
He had that rugged, masculine, self-assured look so many women admire in men. He was probably tall, muscular and athletic, carrying himself with an easy grace. Remember! Adam was the epitome of human physical perfection! He was directly molded and fashioned by the hands of the One who was the Creator of all the universe.
But what of his wife? She, too, was created perfectly. She must have been a fantastic beauty — embodying every quality that could possibly be desired by any young woman. Athletic and supple, yet feminine and soft, perfectly formed, she was in perfect health, with one of the rarest of all combinations — beauty and intelligence!
These two were perfectly suited for each other. Almighty God had created them so! It was HE who had ordained that they should become ONE FLESH!
This was a marriage thought out, planned and designed by Almighty God. It seemingly had every chance for success.
Analyze it further. Their home was a fabulous paradise. Here was a young man who had the finest of all jobs, with unlimited opportunity for advancement. Further, he had no competitors. There was no one in sight who could possibly have wanted his job, or who could possibly have taken it away from him. He had the one elusive blessing so many men on earth search for in vain today — security!
And, what is also very important, he was totally OUT OF DEBT! He was in absolute financial solvency, owing no man anything.
He was personally well acquainted with his Employer — even to the point of spending hours with Him in long talks about his future. His Employer, who was God Almighty, took such special interest in this young man that He gave him personal inside tips on how to get ahead, how to be a complete success.
NEVER could a young married couple have had more with which to begin!
Think of it! No possible "in-law troubles," and they were not married too young, since in all probability they were right at or about age 30. There were no cultural differences, no language difficulties, no religious conflicts, no racial problems.
There were no conflicts in interest through heredity, environment and background — since they both started at the same time! In short, they had absolutely NONE of the handicaps confronting even the average well-mated couple of today, and had everything to indicate that a BRILLIANT life and successful marriage lay ahead of them.
Never, from that time to this, has any couple had more in their favor for a happy marriage!