Cohabitation Rates Rising, Even among Christian Couples

Amanda Casanova | ChristianHeadlines.com Contributor | Updated: Apr 12, 2016

Cohabitation Rates Rising, Even among Christian Couples

More Christian couples are choosing to cohabit before marriage, according to a Gallup poll.

According to WorldMag.com, nearly seven in 10 teens, and almost half of teens with a religious background, support living with their significant other before marriage.

“It’s surprising. … I will meet with a couple actively engaged in Bible studies, regularly attending our services, and living together, and they don’t feel convicted about it,” said Houston pastor and marriage author Gary Thomas.

Christian couples that live together say they can live together without sex and often choose to live together because of finances and convenience.

Mike Mobley, a Dallas church staffer who tried cohabitation, says that it often doesn’t work out.

“I’ll be the first to tell you from personal experience, [our] excuses do not justify the actions.”

When he first moved to Tennessee, Mobley moved in with his Christian girlfriend and slept in a separate bedroom while they saved money for marriage.

As they tried to apply for membership to churches, they were rejected. Over the course of a year, Mobley moved out and the couple broke up.

“If we had married, our foundation was ‘us first.’ We were the main characters in our story. … We were trying to attach God to that,” he said.

Today, Mobley lives in Texas with his wife of six years. They have two children.

He encourages people to find a church because church attendance means couples are four times less likely to cohabit.

Photo courtsy: Thinkstockphotos.com

Publication date: April 12, 2016



Cohabitation Rates Rising, Even among Christian Couples