Divorce and Religion – A Common History

Carol Cavanaugh

No social structure is as old as marriage. The Bible, in Genesis, tells of how God created Adam and Eve, and married them. However, almost as quickly, the rise of divorce came about. The practice was normal during Moses’ time, and the Old Testament book of Numbers contains laws for annulment.

It is to be the exception, rather than the rule. In Asian cultures, we are given to understand, it was a bit more commonplace. This is the case to an even greater degree in this modern age. The history of this subject throughout the ages is a fascinating one. At this moment, let us focus on it.

Not much information on the practice can be found outside of fragments and Biblical accounts until the rise of the Greek and Roman civilizations. In the eastern world, husband’s married many wives, and the practice was common because of the lack of respect for marriage.

Divorce is lawful in Muslim countries, but in the sight of Allah it is the most hated thing.

By the time of Greek society, however, marriage was regulated and accepted. Submit a request to a magistrate, in ancient Athens, and it would be judged as to whether it was lawful or not and either denied or granted.

Though disapproved of early on in Roman culture, as Rome became less scrupulous it adopted the creed that marriages should be free. In theory, the husband or the wife could initiate a divorce at any time, but divorces remained rare.

Marriage become a permanent arrangement once Christianity became dominant. Divorce was not prevalent in the Middle Ages but there were some who went against that trend such as England’s King Henry VIII. He had six wives during his reign, and would execute two of them.

In Victorian times, it was still prejudiced against, but, again, still practiced on occasion. It was more frequent for an informal divorce to occur where, though still technically married, the husband and wife would be separated. This was quite commonplace throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, although towards the end of the 19th century attitudes began to swing back the other way.

Divorce is a casual affair nowadays with the more casual legal procedure involved in it. In the United States, 40% of marriages do not last until the death of one of the parties. This is a far cry from the standards of earlier times.