America's 50 Percent Divorce

Introduction In the early days of the American republic, divorce, tied metaphorically to the new nation's "divorce" from England, was essentially a symbol of social order, representing the ability of the community to enforce standards for marital (and other governing) contracts. The 18th- and 19th-century privileging of contract relations allowed lifelong marriage to coexist with the acceptance of divorce if one of the spouses failed to live up to the marital contract.

Such a view of and debate over marriage and divorce issues continues in the contemporary experience, prompted in part by the findings reported and commentary attributed to analysts such as Honigmann (37-43). Furstenberg, (379-403) “During the 1980s the divorce rate declined slightly but remained high enough that about half of marriages, at current rates, would end in divorce.” Hankins (177-84) also observed that divorce “rates in the 1980s, although stable, still imply that about half of all the marriages begun in the mid-1970s will end in divorce or separation” (p. 30). Such information is also cited in the most learned of reference publications, as noted by Honigmann, (37-43), for example, who, drawing upon (Hankins (177-84), among others, state, “The USA has one of the highest divorce rates—50 percent of all marriages now end in divorce.” Because of the respectable position these analysts hold, other analysts make good use of the information to further perpetuate the myth of a 50 percent divorce rate. For example, Galston (12-26), “Only about 5% of marriages contracted in 1867 were expected to end in divorce, but over one-half of marriages contracted in 1967 are expected to end in divorce” (Blake, 55-66). And of course, publications that champion women's issues cannot neglect the divorce problem, as noted in Deborah Perry's discussion on the economy: “with more than half of marriages ending in divorce, many stay-at-home women may not be entitled to the Social Security benefits of their former spouses” (Beale, 72-74).

Because of its seemingly authentic quality, the popular perception of the 50 percent divorce rate has held sway during the final decades of the twentieth century, and the myth continues to thrive into the early part of the twenty-first century. Despite its mythological quality, the inferred high rate of divorce places the institution of marriage and the divorce event among a critical core of social issues that challenge our sensibilities. Indeed, it is the case that ever since the publication of the first public report of the marriage and divorce data occurred approximately 100 years ago, myths of a more glorious past surrounding marriage and the family institution have been in evidence. But careful consideration of the data indicates that the 50 percent divorce rate myth is not supported by the social facts.

Discussion

The use of official government documents serves as the basis for a discussion of the incidence and rate of marriage and divorce and for exposing the myth of the United States' 50 percent divorce rate. In the following sections, such data are brought to bear on the historical and contemporary ...