Protestant Views on Marriage and Divorce: A Historical Overview
How the Reformation reshaped Christian teaching on marriage, divorce, and remarriage—from Luther's radical break with Rome to modern denominational splits.
- Martin Luther rejected celibacy and reframed marriage as a civil and spiritual partnership, not a sacrament—a seismic shift from Catholic doctrine.
- Early Protestants allowed divorce for adultery and desertion, but most banned remarriage; modern Protestants range from strict to permissive on both.
- Disagreement over divorce has fractured Protestant denominations and continues to reshape pastoral practice and theology today.
Protestant marriage doctrine emerged from Martin Luther's rejection of Catholic sacramentalism. Where Rome taught that marriage was one of seven sacraments—a mystical bond only God could dissolve—Luther declared it a civil contract and household partnership blessed by God but governed by secular law. This single move unleashed centuries of theological argument over whether divorce was ever permissible, whether remarriage was legitimate, and who had authority to decide. The result: no single 'Protestant' view exists. Instead, Protestant churches have splintered into competing frameworks, each claiming biblical fidelity.
The Reformation Rupture: Luther and Early Protestant Doctrine
Luther's 1520 tract "The Babylonian Captivity of the Church" attacked the sacramental view of marriage. He argued that marriage was instituted by God but was fundamentally a worldly, legal matter—not a channel of divine grace. This meant the church had no exclusive power to bind or loose marriage; civil magistrates could regulate it. Crucially, Luther also permitted divorce for adultery and malicious desertion, reasoning that the innocent party was freed to remarry. This was radical: it meant the marriage bond could break, and the divorced person was not eternally bound.
John Calvin largely agreed with Luther but emphasized the moral gravity of divorce. He too allowed it for adultery and abandonment, but framed it as a tragic concession to human weakness, not a casual option. Calvin's followers stressed that divorce should be rare, pursued only after serious pastoral counsel, and that remarriage of the innocent party was permissible but not encouraged. This tension—between permission and discouragement—became characteristic of Reformed Protestantism.
The Grounds Question: What Breaks a Marriage?
Early Protestants narrowed the grounds for divorce sharply. The medieval Catholic church had allowed annulment (a declaration that no valid marriage existed) on many grounds—impotence, prior vows, lack of consent, certain degrees of kinship. Protestants rejected annulment as a loophole and instead debated which acts dissolved a marriage outright. Adultery was nearly universal: if one spouse broke the sexual covenant, the innocent party could divorce and remarry. Desertion (abandonment by an unbelieving spouse) was also widely accepted, based on 1 Corinthians 7:15.
But Protestants disagreed on everything else. Could divorce follow from cruelty, incompatibility, or mutual consent? Most early Protestants said no. Some, like certain Anabaptist groups, took an even stricter line and forbade divorce altogether except possibly for adultery—and even then, some banned remarriage. By the 17th century, Protestant Europe had fragmented into a patchwork: Lutheran territories often allowed both divorce and remarriage on broader grounds; Reformed areas were more restrictive; Anabaptist communities were the strictest.
The Remarriage Puzzle: Freedom or Bondage?
One of the deepest Protestant divides concerned remarriage of the divorced. Luther and Calvin both permitted it for the innocent party in adultery cases. But many later Protestants—especially in the 19th and early 20th centuries—recoiled from this. They cited Jesus's teaching in Matthew 19:9 ("whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another, commits adultery") as a near-absolute ban. Some argued that even the innocent party should remain single or reconcile. Others split the difference: divorce was allowed, but remarriage was sinful or at least not to be solemnized by the church.
This ambiguity left pastors in an impossible position. Should they perform a remarriage ceremony for a divorced person? Would doing so endorse sin? By the 20th century, major Protestant denominations began liberalizing. The Church of England permitted clergy to remarry divorced persons in church (after decades of resistance). American Evangelical and Mainline churches slowly followed. Today, most Protestant congregations will marry divorced people, though some—particularly conservative evangelical and fundamentalist churches—still refuse or impose conditions like proof of the ex-spouse's infidelity.
Why This Matters and When It Shifted
Protestant disagreement on marriage and divorce has had concrete pastoral and legal consequences. In 16th-century Germany, Luther's permission for divorce meant that people could actually escape abusive or dead marriages—a freedom Catholic subjects lacked. But it also meant that pastors had to make judgment calls, and that remarried people faced social stigma or ecclesiastical sanction. The question was never merely theological; it was about real people's lives, property rights, children's legitimacy, and women's economic security.
The major shift came in the 20th century. As divorce rates rose and secular law increasingly permitted no-fault divorce, most Protestant churches faced a choice: maintain strict doctrine and lose members, or adapt. The result was a broad liberalization, especially after the 1960s. Today, the majority of American Protestants accept divorce and remarriage as morally permissible, though many still view it as regrettable. Fundamentalist and conservative evangelical churches remain the holdouts, viewing divorce as a sin except in narrow cases, and some still teach that remarriage is adultery.
- Mainline (Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran): Divorce and remarriage widely accepted; pastoral support offered.
- Evangelical and Pentecostal: Range from permissive (most) to restrictive (fundamentalist wings); often teach remarriage is sinful unless spouse committed adultery.
- Anabaptist/Mennonite: Historically the strictest; modern congregations vary widely, but many still discourage remarriage.
- Orthodox (often grouped with Protestants in historical surveys): Allow divorce and remarriage, but with penance and limits on the number of remarriages.
Key Turning Points in Protestant Divorce Doctrine
| Period | Key Development | Typical Protestant Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1520s–1540s | Luther and Calvin reject sacramentalism; permit divorce for adultery and desertion | Divorce allowed; remarriage of innocent party permitted |
| 1600s–1700s | Confessional consolidation; most Reformed and Lutheran churches codify restrictive grounds | Divorce rare; remarriage discouraged or forbidden |
| 1800s–early 1900s | Victorian moralism; remarriage viewed as scandalous; many churches ban it entirely | Divorce permitted in principle; remarriage forbidden or shameful |
| 1960s–1980s | Sexual revolution and no-fault divorce laws; Protestant churches liberalize | Divorce and remarriage increasingly accepted as moral options |
| 1990s–present | Mainline churches fully embrace; evangelicals split into permissive and strict camps | Wide variation: from full acceptance to 'remarriage is adultery' teaching |
Sources
- Luther, Martin. 'The Babylonian Captivity of the Church' (1520); see esp. section on marriage as a civil matter.
- Calvin, John. 'Institutes of the Christian Religion,' Book IV, on marriage and divorce; emphasizes moral gravity.
- Witte, John. 'From Sacrament to Contract: Marriage, Religion, and Law in the Western Tradition' (1997)—foundational on Protestant legal and theological shifts.
- Ruether, Rosemary Radford. 'Sexism and God-Talk' (1983, rev. 1993)—feminist analysis of Protestant marriage doctrine and its effects on women.
