Catholics defend marriage because it is a Sacrament and a vocation, but also because it is good for society. To encourage you to be a defender of marriage, here is a “one page” full of facts about how divorce harms society.
Social science research shows that marriage brings financial benefits while
divorce has negative financial consequences:
• The households of divorced women have less than half the income of their continuously-married counterparts.
• The household income of a child’s family dropped,on average,by about 52 percent following a divorce.
• Household income for a mother and children fell by 40 to 45 percent following a divorce. Additionally, their food consumption decreased by 17 percent.
Marriage benefits every member of the family. What is the next step you can take
to make your marriage better?
Learn more! Download the “Divorce and Poverty” PDF One Sheet here!
How can you be a defender of marriage?
- Share this “one page” with others so they know that divorce isn’t good for society.
- If you know a married couple who is struggling, offer them support, recommend they go on a Retrouvaille retreat, and invite them to our Marriage Help page.
- Support married couples. If you’re married, consider becoming a marriage mentor for younger couples. You can encourage any married couple to strengthen their marriage. Invite them to visit our Marriage Enrichment page for some great ideas.
- If you’re married, don’t’ forget to strengthen your own marriage too! Our culture needs to see what successful marriages look like, and you can show them even if you’re not perfect.
- Offer support to someone who is divorced and struggling.
Divorce is a complex issue. There are many reasons couples may choose to end their marriages. But divorce is bad for society. When we are informed about the good of marriage and the damage done by divorce, and when we lend support to married couples and to divorced we can become marriage defenders.
Jeff Arrowood is the Natural Family Planning Educator for the Diocese of LaCrosse.
You can contact Jeff at jarrowood@diolc.org