Religion Watch Archives

Monitoring Trends in Religion - From February 1990 to January 2016

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Archives
    • By Issue
    • By Article
    • By PDF (2008-14)
    • By PDF (1985-97)
    • All Articles
  • Sections
    • Current Research
    • Findings & Footnotes
    • On/File
  • Google Search
You are here: Home / Archive / Divorce ceremonies finding place in mainline religion

Divorce ceremonies finding place in mainline religion

June 1, 2001 by Richard Cimino

Print-friendly

Growing numbers of mainline churches and Reform synagogues are holding divorce ceremonies, reports the Wall Street Journal (May 4).

Although these services have been sporadically performed in liberal churches and synagogues, they are now being used more frequently and even finding a place in prayer books and liturgies as the high divorce rate shows few signs of reversing. These ceremonies “can include everything from traditional wedding songs to video tributes to the couple.

Also common are ring exchanges (except the spouses take off their rings and return them to each other) and vows (‘I promise to respect you as an individual’),” writes Nancy Ann Jeffrey.

The United Church of Christ and the Reform branch of Judaism have worked the divorce ceremony into their regular prayer and worship texts. The United Methodists have included a prayer for persons going through divorce to their book of worship, while the Episcopal Church is considering such a move, and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) allows congregations to take such prayers from other sources.

One UCC official says that the ritual helps keep divorced couples in the church community. David Blankenhorn of the Institute for American Values, says the ceremonies wrongly suggest that divorce is just part of life rather than a failure. But veterans of the ritual say that they can provide comfort at a painful time, especially for children.

Print-friendly

Filed Under: Archive

Also in this issue

  • On/File: June 2001
  • Findings & Footnotes: June 2001
  • Nation of Islam gains mainstream following in England
  • Current Research: June 2001
  • Buddhism finds welcome reception in prisons
  • Christian Science opens doors to seekers, shutting out churches?
  • Ex-gay ministries, activism turn to prevention, while optimistic
  • Buddhist goddess finds Western following
  • Fast devotions gaining favor as ‘better than nothing’
  • Architectural restoration gaining popular support
  • Finding common ground and new divisions on cults

Search the Site

Download the first issue of RELIGION WATCH (1980)

Download the first issue of RELIGION WATCH (1980)

Click on the image for downloading

© 2016-2020 Richard Cimino / Religioscope
·News Pro Theme · Genesis Framework by StudioPress · WordPress