Note: you can hate the messenger (i.e. the Heritage Foundation), and attempt to kill the message (that religion and traditional morality has very positive effects in the social and personal lives of adherents), but facts are facts… ignore them at your own peril, your spouse’s peril, and the peril of your children. The studies abound; research them, consider them, heed their warnings.
“Cohabitation. Studies consistently suggest that cohabitation is associated with an increased likelihood of divorce. For example, Paul Amato, confirming earlier indications,[26] reported that couples who had lived together before marriage were 59 percent more likely to divorce than those who did not.[27]
Repeated studies confirm the finding that those who attended religious services infrequently and those who, as adolescents, considered Religion to be of low importance are more likely to cohabit as young adults.[28] Compared with peers who attended religious services several times a week, young women who never attended were seven times more likely to cohabit. Women who attended weekly were one-third less likely to cohabit than those who attended less than once a month.[29]The religious practice of parents also affects cohabitation rates. Those whose mothers frequently attended religious services were 50 percent less likely to cohabit than were peers whose mothers were not actively religious. A related research finding reported that church-going adults tend to stop regular religious practice when they begin to cohabit.[30]
Click Why Religion Matters Even More: The Impact of Religious Practice on Social Stability | The Heritage Foundation for the rest of the article.
Spiritual Wrestlings 