Divorce, including relatively amicable divorces, can impact mightily how children deal with religion, according to new research from Lake Forest College in Chicago. Sociologists have found that kids raised by divorced parents are half as likely to stay involved with church. According to Elizabeth Marquardt, an American studies professor at Lake Forest and lead author of the study, says divorce is contributing to one of the most pronounced religious trends in America. “Children of divorce are on the leading edge of the well-documented spiritual-but-not-religious movement,” Marquardt said. “These are potential leaders. As we grapple with more and more people growing up without a married mom and dad, the church can make more sense of that.” (Chicago Tribune)

Paul Asay has covered religion for The Washington Post, Christianity Today, Beliefnet.com and The (Colorado Springs) Gazette. He writes about culture for Plugged In and wrote the Batman book God on the Streets of Gotham (Tyndale). He lives in Colorado Springs with wife, Wendy, and two children. Follow him on Twitter.