Family Diversity

Does divorce mean that the family is in decline?

OBJ: To know what divorce is, to examine why it happens and to consider the consequences.

What is divorce?
 Divorce is the legal separation between husband and wife.The termination of a marriage.
But there are different types of divorce, such as empty shell marriage which is them married by name only, Desertion where one partner leaves the other and legal separation, where the court separates financial dealings but still married.

divorce statistics are presented in three main ways:

1. The total number of divorce petitions per year (The number of people applying for a divorce but not necessarily gone through with it.
2. The total number of decrees absolute granted per year
3. The divorce rate

Reasons for divorce:

• Law:
• divorce has become accessible to women in 1923
• Divorce law reform act 1969 (first actioned in 1971)
• Divorce on the grounds of 'irretrievable breakdown'
• 1949 saw the introduction to money being available to help, but had to have a 3 year period of reconciliation
• The period of reconciliation was reduced to 1 year from 3
• Stigma and changing attitudes:
• Stigma is a negative label
• Churches condemned divorce
• Mitchell & Goody saw in the 1960s saw that divorce is more acceptable
• Couples now get divorced, which became a normality, it was no longer considered negatively but instead was treated as a misfortune.
• Secularisation
• 34% of Christians follow the traditional rules
• Churches don't want to lose followers so they have soften their views
• IN some religious communities, it is still shunned to get a divorce
• Rising expectations of marriage
• Marriage is no longer considered a binding contract
• Lower expectations of people of being married has led to increase in divorce
• A change in the paradigm of love, it is considered Romantic and that if you no longer love each other, there is no point of marriage.
• Higher expectations makes couples today less willing to tolerate an unhappy marriage.
• Changing potions of women
• Radical feminists argue that the cause of divorce is due to the dissatisfaction with patriarchal society which less women want to tolerate
• Women have greater success in education and get better life prospects
• Developments mean that women are more likely to be able to support themselves in the event of divorce
• The availability of welfare benefits means that women no longer have to remain financially dependant on their husbands.