Pray Together, Get Divorced
A fascinating story from The Financial Times [London] (US – South finds families that pray together may not stay together) begins with these interesting revelations:
When Massachusetts became the first and so far only US state to legalise gay marriage last year, the loudest protests came from the south. Bible Belt states such as Georgia and Alabama portrayed themselves as the defenders of traditional family values against Godless liberals in the north-east.
However, surveys of marriage and divorce across the 50 states paint a very different picture of US society. They show that the most stable families are concentrated in the easy-going north-east, while the God-fearing south has the most broken homes.
Southern states account for eight of the 10 highest divorce rates, while nine of the 10 lowest are in the north-east, according to the US Census Bureau.
Massachusetts, home of John Kerry, the unsuccessful presidential candidate, has the lowest rate at 2.4 divorces per 1,000 people, against 4.1 in President George W. Bush's Texas.
Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee – states in which it is common to see the Ten Commandments displayed outside rural homes – have an average rate of 5.6, above the national average of 4.
The statistics are an embarrassment to a region that has always trumpeted the slogan: "Families that pray together stay together."
Embarrassment seems like a good thing in this case for those who believe that a Medieval form of government is the best for modern times. Now that that absurd Dobson crusader has tipped over the edge and uncovered his own gay cartoon character (honestly: what sense does it make to ask stupid-ass questions like "Do you think SpongeBob is really gay?", when cartoon characters are not real! ), continuing embarrassment looks more likely.
Perhaps it's time to take down those dusty old ten-commandment displays and work up some new ones like "Love thy gay children as thyself".