Quote:
Originally Posted by photon
One would think that the closer any couple's expectations and goals are the more chance for success, but that study posted earlier seems to indicate otherwise, with religious people having a higher rate of divorce than agnostic or atheists..
Though that could simply be related to the fact that on average agnostics and atheists have a higher level of education and a higher income.
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I'm one who isn't surprised that "religious" marriages have a higher failure rate. Not to generalize, but there is a doctrine that I've heard that "couples who pray together stay together"--which strikes me as one of those magical, simple fixes for marital issues that never works in real life.
If you go into a marriage thinking "this will be easy because we share this religion thing," then you've forgotten the cardinal rule of human relationships. People change--you must work to accept and nurture the changes your partner undergoes, and understand that the terms of your relationship will evolve over time.
This is why there is no simple answer to what makes marriages work. Marriages don't work unless you're willing to work
for them.