Is Religion Bad for Marriage?

A recent book has as its premise that liberal states have a lower divorce rate than conservative, conservatives tend to be more religious so therefore religious beliefs are bad for marriage.  Well, I’m not quite sure of their logic since religion is only one element in a person’s life and also correlation does not necessarily equal causation.  However, my interest lies in the response of Christians to this idea.

Janie B. Cheaney questions this statement by asserting that if we make a distinction between religious affiliation and religious practice this statement does not hold because those who attend church regularly are less likely to divorce than those who do not. [1]

It seems that some Christians want their cake and eat it too.  Most doctrinal statements assert that only by belief in Jesus and his death for our sins can we be saved.  However, when issues such as the above come up they are quick to talk about practice not just belief.

If salvation is just a matter of belief, then why does it matter what our practice is?  I would like an answer.

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[1]   Janie B. Cheaney, “A little religion”, World, September 6, 2014, p. 21.

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