Evangelical Alliance on the Family

The latest report in the 21st Century Evangelicals Series from the Evangelical Alliance UK is devoted to the family.

The full report – How’s the Family? – is available as a pdf here.

According to the Press Release, results of the survey include:

• Christian evangelicals are far less likely to live in single-parent households – four per cent, compared with 12 per cent nationally

• There are 1.7 single females in evangelical congregations for every man. This figure rises in the over-55s to three women to every man. This is reflected in the amount of women marrying non-Christians: 23 per cent compared to 13 per cent of men.

• Counter-cultural trends exist. For example two thirds are married compared to 49 per cent of the population. The number divorced is half that of the UK average.

• Secrets to the success of sustainable marriage of Christians are probably found in their preparations for marriage – over half had had formal preparation such as a course run at their local church.

• 29 per cent had sought help in their marriage, with the top three reasons being: communication difficulties, infidelity, and sexual problems.

• Nearly 10 per cent of people said they had received physical abuse and seven per cent said they had given it. These figures compare with 25 per cent of women across Europe saying they had experienced domestic violence at least once.

• While there is some evidence that many Christian parents hand down their faith commitment to the next generation, the report estimates that only 50 per cent of children brought up by Christian parents become adult believers. Thankfully the Church is enriched by significant numbers who come to faith as adults, including 11 per cent of the married couples in our sample who both came to faith after their marriage.