AMERICAN ATHEISTS, INC. PRESS RELEASE Jan. 3, 2000 http://www.atheists.org http://www.americanatheist.org Barna Research Group Finds That Atheists Less Likely to Divorce than Born-Again Christians Churches likely places of rejection rather than support In a Dec. 21 survey conducted by Barna Research Group Ltd. of Ventura, CA, they found that Christians, Mormons, and Jews, are more likely to divorce than Atheists. A nationwide survey of nearly 4,000 adults, noted that these "national statistics have remained the same for the past half decade." They noted that Protestants, with a 34% divorce rate, were among the highest, with Baptists (29%) leading the way among Protestant groups. Jews had a 30% likelihood of divorce while Mormons rated at 24%. Atheist families experienced only a 21% divorce rate. "These findings confirm what we have always been saying," noted Ron Barrier, National Spokesman for American Atheists. "Religious claims of a suor morality is not supported by this data. With Atheism, women and men are equally responsible for a healthy marriage. There is no room in Atheist ethics for the type of 'submissive' nonsense preached by Baptists and other Christian and/or Jewish groups. Atheists reject, and rightly so, the primitive patriarchal attitudes so prevalent in many religions with respect to marriage." In view of the current demand for 'faith-based' solutions between government and religion to "strengthen" American families, currently touted by presidential hopeful Al Gore and religious organizations, American Atheists points out that Barna Research noted, "Even more disturbing, perhaps, is that when [Christians] experience a divorce many of them feel their community of faith provides rejection rather than support and healing." The report also went on to question "the effectiveness of how churches minister to families." "It would seem to me," said Mr. Barrier, "that churches are the last places one should go ffamily support. The statistics now bear this out." Ellen Johnson, President of American Atheists, said, "Religion is not, and never was, the panacea it has claimed to be for so long. It is time to take a second look at Atheism as a rational approach to healthy family life in America." For more information, please contact: Ellen Johnson, President (973)334-5110 Ron Barrier, Spokesperson (718)967-6453 American Atheists, Inc. P.O. Box 5733 Parsippany, NJ 07054-6733 Tel: (908)276-7300 Fax: (908)276-7402