Why the Divorce Rate in 1900 Was Only 7%

The divorce rate was:

• 7% in 1900.
• 26% in 1950.
• 40-50% from 1975 to the present.

Since 2003, the “official” divorce rate has dipped below 40% at times. But this doesn’t reflect break-ups of cohabiting couples, and cohabitation has doubled since the mid-1990's. 

Andrew Cherlin, a sociology professor at Johns Hopkins University, explained, “In order to get divorced you have to get married first.” (source)

In addition, couples who've been married for several decades are divorcing at a higher rate than in the past. (See Shades of Gray Divorce.)

So what’s changed in the mentality of couples since 1900 to make divorces increase more than 700%? 

There have been tremendous social, educational and economic changes in our world in the last century. 

In 1900:

• 98% of these couples had no electricity.
• 80% had no indoor plumbing.
• Most of them heated with wood or coal.
• There were none of our modern conveniences like air conditioning, washing machines, microwaves, and automobiles.
• Life expectancy was 49.2 years.
• The leading causes of death were pneumonia and tuberculosis.
• The average couple had less formal education.

Sometimes we think more money, material possessions, free time, and education make people wiser and happier. But that obviously isn't the case.

So why were there fewer divorces in the 1900s? 

Suggested Causes:

Wife Abuse: Some people claim that the only reason the divorce rate was lower is because women were not able to get free from abusive marriages. There is no excuse for abusive marriages, and women caught in these situations in the 1900s had fewer rights than women today. This could account for a slight increase, but not a major cause.

Difficult Divorce Laws: Some people claim that the divorce rates were lower simply because the laws made it harder to get divorces. There may be some truth in this, but laws reflect the attitudes and opinions of culture. In the early 1900s laws reflected more of a biblical view of commitment than our current laws. Now a person can simply grow tired of their spouse or "fall out of love." See Falling or Walking

Women's Rights: It's true that there was a time when women couldn't own property, but those laws began changing in mid 1800's and the divorce rate remained low. Increased women's rights could have made divorce more attractive, but it didn't cause it.

Life Span: Some believe that more divorces occur now simply because people live longer. It's true that our life span has increased drastically in the last 100 years. However, most divorces in the U.S. occur between 25-39 years of age (source).  In addition, people in the early 1900's tended to marry at an earlier age than people today (source).

But note this: Even if these reasons contributed to the rise in divorces between 1900 and 1950, they can't be blamed for the dramatic increase since the 50's. And if we add the number of "divorces" involving unmarried couples who live together, the rise is even more dramatic. 

There are multiple reasons for the rise in divorces, but it's undeniable that our expectations and selfishness play a huge role. Most modern marriages end due to lack of commitment, extramarital affairs, money problems, or refusal to work through difficulties. If a person feels unhappy, they are more likely to divorce than commit to the hard work of restoring a marriage.

We’ve come to expect easy lives, immediate results, quick fixes, and personal freedoms. We take luxuries for granted and get depressed if things don’t go our way. And these attitudes affect all of our relationships. (See Don't Give Me What I Deserve and 2 Hindrances to Christian Growth).

We've come to think that marriage should always be romantic, fun, and easy. 

Perhaps the couples in 1900 knew everything worthwhile took hard work. Perhaps they were realistic enough to know their marriages would not be perfect and "fun" all the time.  

Sometimes marriages end no matter how hard one partner tries. But most marriages end because both partners give up too easily. They put more forethought, time, and effort into their wedding ceremony than their marriage.

I’ve been married 50 years, and I have a great relationship with my husband. But we’ve gone through periods that weren’t so great, when our love grew lukewarm and our attitudes needed adjustment... when we needed to be more patient and forgiving... when we needed to remove the logs in our eyes and quit picking at the speck in our spouse's eye (Matthew 7:3-5)... when we needed to quit waiting for the other to make the first move and make it ourselves. 

It's typical for marriages to go through various stages of growth and the transitions are not always smooth. (See: 7 Stages of Marriage.)

Like anything worthwhile, marriage requires prayer, dying to self, endurance and patience. But it’s worth it. And when we don't feel like persevering for our husband's sake, we can persevere for the Lord. (See Don't Freak Out and Is All Conflict Bad?)

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." Colossians 3:23-24

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Sources for this post: Facts in 1900, Pew Research on Cohabitation, Info Please. 

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