The issue is not with the religious teaching about divorce per se, but apparently other things being pushed by that cultural influence, such as pressure to wed and have kids early, abstinence-only sex education, unavailability of emergency contraception, etc., which add to a variety of marriage stresses directly and indirectly.
Not only that, but this has a knock-on effect increasing the divorce rates of others in the area, too (again, because of those cultural influences).
It also seems high concentrations of secularism / non-religious people also correlates to more divorces — but, then, we'd expect that of those godless heathens anyway, right?
More religiously conservative Protestants? More divorce, study finds
Religiously conservative communities have higher rates of divorce, probably because they encourage early marriage.
I think the divorce rates in secular areas will shake out as time goes on, though. Without as much religious and cultural pressure, people wait longer to get married and are more careful when they do, so they're less likely to get divorced down the line. Give it another generation or so and those numbers will look very different.
Hard to judge this for several reasons (and I haven't read the article to know if it comments on this) but I'd be curious to know if the people studied were always religious or did that occur during marriage. I'd like to know their family backgrounds. I think the second factor has a lot more to do with divorce than the religious or non-religious status.
In the end, we're all human if course, but it is interesting that at least according to this one study, those that should value the sanctity of marriage more are less likely to uphold it. (Wonder if this could be replicated?)
For secular areas, I'm not surprised. There's a lot less social pressure to stay together if things aren't working out. Religion isn't dictating that you stay together, nor are your parents, friends, etc.
In more religious areas, I can see the things you mentioned having an effect. Young married people may not have any idea what else it could be like, and things will stress them out that they could have figured out by living together ahead of time.
However, it looks like it comes down to the fact that we just can't keep it together anymore. And honestly, should we?
Logan, there is a lot of social stigma attached to being divorced, no matter what the religious implication (although I'd agree that religious views tend to increase said pressure). Your background and how your parents handled conflict is typically reflected in how an individual learns to handle conflict, thus why if parents get divorced, it's more common for the children to do so later.
I like your last question. Should we try to hold it together? I'd be curious to hear why not (and why) from your view!