Evangelicals Seen to Be Softening on Divorce

A Christianity Today article that reinterprets Jesus Christ’s stance against divorce has sparked anger among evangelicals, Time reports, while also revealing diminished opposition to breaking the marital sacrament. The piece argues that, in a key scripture passage, Jesus might have been giving his opinion on a certain kind of divorce and not against the practice entirely—perhaps giving evangelicals an out.

One theologian called the article, which approves divorce in cases of emotional neglect and abandonment, “tragic.” But the many positive responses are a sign of the times, Time writes, and perhaps signal that a new generation will ease its stance on gays, too. Or maybe it’s just a reflection of reality: Evangelicals’ divorce rate equals or tops the US average. (More divorce stories.)