Christian marriage statistics are often discussed in terms of marriage rates, divorce experience, cohabitation, and how church involvement relates to relationship stability. Below is a data-driven snapshot using recent U.S. survey and vital statistics sources.
Christian Marriage Statistics (Top Highlights)
- 55% of Christian adults in the U.S. are married (Pew Research Center, 2023–2024).
- Among Christians, 8% live with a partner outside of marriage and 12% are divorced/separated (Pew Research Center, 2023–2024).
- By tradition, Evangelical Protestants have the highest share married (59%), while Historically Black Protestants have the lowest (33%) (Pew Research Center, 2023–2024).
- Barna reports 18% of U.S. adults have been divorced at some point, and 55% of those divorced have remarried (Barna survey fielded Aug 16–29, 2024).
- 42% of practicing Christians say it’s “wise” to live with someone before marriage (vs. 58% of all adults) (Barna, 2025).
- CDC provisional 2023 counts: 2,041,926 marriages (marriage rate 6.1 per 1,000 total population) and a divorce rate of 2.4 per 1,000 population (divorces reported by 45 states and D.C.).
- Institute for Family Studies (Add Health analysis): among those marrying at age 21 or younger, weekly worship attendance is linked to a lower share of marriages ending in divorce (described as “just over a third” vs. “over half” for non-attenders).
Marital Status of Christians vs. Religiously Unaffiliated Adults (U.S.)
Pew’s 2023–24 Religious Landscape Study provides a comparable marital-status breakdown across major religious categories. Christians are more likely to be married than religiously unaffiliated adults, who also have higher cohabitation levels.
| Group (U.S., 2023–2024) | Married | Living with partner | Divorced / separated | Widowed | Never married |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christians | 55% | 8% | 12% | 8% | 17% |
| Religiously unaffiliated | 42% | 17% | 10% | 3% | 28% |
Share of Adults Who Are Married, by Christian Tradition (U.S., 2023–2024)
| Label | Bar | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Evangelical Protestants | 59% | |
| Catholics | 56% | |
| Mainline Protestants | 56% | |
| Christians overall | 55% | |
| Historically Black Protestants | 33% |
Max = 59%. Widths: Evangelical Protestants 100.00%, Catholics 94.92%, Mainline Protestants 94.92%, Christians overall 93.22%, Historically Black Protestants 55.93%.
Divorce Experience Among Christians (Barna, 2025)
Barna reports that Christians are about as likely as non-Christians to say they’ve been divorced at some point, with a small spread by Christian practice level.
| Label | Bar | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Nonpracticing Christians | 20% | |
| Practicing Christians | 16% | |
| Non-Christians | 16% |
Max = 20%. Widths: Nonpracticing Christians 100.00%, Practicing Christians 80.00%, Non-Christians 80.00%.
Cohabitation: Behavior vs. Attitudes
- In Pew’s 2023–24 data, 8% of Christians report “living with a partner” (vs. 17% among religiously unaffiliated adults).
- Barna reports that cohabitation may be statistically uncommon (citing U.S. census data around 8% of adults living with a partner outside marriage), but attitudes are more permissive: 42% of practicing Christians say cohabiting before marriage is “wise.”
Church Attendance and Marriage Stability (Add Health Analysis)
Institute for Family Studies highlights an Add Health-based analysis where weekly worship attendance around the time of marriage is linked to lower divorce levels, especially among those who marry young. In the group marrying at age 21 or younger, the share divorced was described as over half for non-attenders versus just over a third for weekly attenders (IFS, January 15, 2026).
Pastors and Marriage (Barna)
- 91% of Protestant pastors are currently married; 97% have been married at some point (Barna, 2025).
- Barna reports pastors are about as likely as the general population to say they’ve been divorced (18%), but they are more likely to remarry afterward (Barna reports 73% of divorced pastors have remarried).
U.S. Marriage and Divorce Baseline (CDC/NCHS)
For general context beyond church-specific surveys, CDC/NCHS provisional 2023 figures report 2,041,926 marriages and a marriage rate of 6.1 per 1,000 total population. The provisional 2023 divorce rate is 2.4 per 1,000 population based on divorce counts reported by 45 states and D.C. (not all states report divorces to this series).
Sources
- Pew Research Center (2025). 2023-24 U.S. Religious Landscape Study Interactive Database (Marital status tables). https://www.pewresearch.org/religious-landscape-study/
- Barna (Nov 12, 2025). Marriage and Divorce in 2025: Five Trends Shaping Today’s Families. https://www.barna.com/trends/marriage-divorce-trends-2025/
- CDC / National Center for Health Statistics. FastStats: Marriage and Divorce. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/marriage-divorce.htm
- CDC / NCHS (PDF). National Marriage and Divorce Rate Trends for 2000–2023 (provisional 2023). https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/dvs/marriage-divorce/national-marriage-divorce-rates-00-23.pdf
- Institute for Family Studies (Jan 15, 2026). Going to Church Can Reduce Your Divorce Risk, Especially If You Marry Young. https://ifstudies.org/blog/going-to-church-can-reduce-your-divorce-risk-especially-if-you-marry-young