Extra! Extra! Want a better chance at a lasting marriage? Become an Evangelical. According to a new study by The Barna Group, evangelicals are less likely than the overall population to divorce, although one out of every four evangelicals who are or have been married nevertheless have gone through at least one divorce. Compared to about one out of two for the general U.S. population.

The survey was based on a sample of 5,017 adults conducted over a year, from January 2007 through January 2008. Of this sample, 3,792 adults were or had been married.

Christian researcher George Barna said Americans have grown accustomed to divorce and added,"There no longer seems to be much of a stigma attached to divorce; it is now seen as an unavoidable rite of passage." And indeed it does.

Barna goes on to suggest that one reason for the shockingly high divorce rate in America is co-habitation. He says that although government statistics have shown that co-habitation increases the likelihood of divorce, it is still growing in popularity.

Why? Barna suggests that America has become an "experimental, experience-driven culture" and rather than learning from the objective and teaching based information, people prefer to follow their instincts and let the chips fall where they may. Personally, I couldn't agree more.

So, what do you have to do to be considered an evangelical by Barna researchers? Click here to read about that, and more.