How To Cut America’s Divorce Rate in Half by Mike McManus

How to Cut America’s Divorce Rate in Half is a timely and important work. As we look to secure a better future for our children there is nothing more fundamental than the strengthening of the American family. The first step in strengthening the family is reforming no-fault divorce. Mike McManus’ latest work provides a strategy to reform this broken system.
Tony Perkins, President, Family Research Council and author of the nation’s first covenant marriage law.

Divorce is the most serious force for family destruction in the Western world today, and therefore it is also the greatest threat to both civic order and freedom itself. Mike McManus’s proposal for mutual consent divorce and other reforms offers the realistic prospect of drastically reducing divorce rate by half and of creating a needed national dialogue on this unaddressed crisis.
Stephen Baskerville, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Government at Patrick Henry College and author of “Taken Into Custody: The War Against Fathers, Marriage, and the Family”

As a divorce lawyer, I see every day how much carnage and anger the divorce process causes, and how damaging it is to men, women and children alike. But there is an immense gap between the dissatisfaction that comes out of the process, and actually doing something constructive about it. People need to realize that the real cause of their problems is not their parents, their ex, the other sex in general, or the lawyers or the judges. They need to raise their horizons and see that the real problem is divorce itself. Just as difficult, is identifying specific social actions, public policies and laws that can help to reduce divorce. This book bridges those gaps, from dissatisfaction to understanding, to clear policy ideas, to sensible, proven techniques to organize for effective advocacy. Mike McManus has a track record of “being the change” that he advocates, with his decades of work building Community Marriage Policies and many other efforts to protect marriage. With this book, he points the way towards changes that could reduce divorce by 50%, as part of a cultural revolution just as profound and dramatic as the one that gave us our present-day levels of divorce, cohabitation and single parenthood.
John Crouch, Director, Americans For Divorce Reform

The divorce reform proposed by Mike McManus is revolutionary and absolutely unprecedented. It would save millions of marriages and stabilize American families, giving kids a much better start in life. I can’t think of any reform that could make America a better place.”
Don Wildmon, Chairman, American Family Association.

Every pastor is stunned by the number of couples in his church who divorce. Few of them realize that in four out of five cases, one spouse does NOT want the divorce, but is forced to accept it because the law actually grants every divorce, shattering the lives of children. Mike McManus puts his finger on a simple but profound answer: require that in cases involving children that both parents would have to agree to a divorce, except in cases of adultery or physical abuse. I believe this change in the law could cut the divorce rate in half. That would spare 500,000 children from seeing their parents divorce each year, and save $50-$100 billion in taxpayer funds. This is an issue that should be taken to those running for state or federal offices in this election year.
Rev. Richard Cizik, Vice President of the National Association of Evangelicals

The American people have always leaned to the view that divorce laws are not strict enough, particularly as they relate to the raising of children. Michael McManus’ proposed mutual consent law is certain to appeal to a large segment of the populous.
George Gallup, Jr. Founder George H. Gallup International Institute

Michael McManus is to be commended for sounding the alarm on the devastatingly negative impact No Fault Divorce has had on our society. However, perhaps the most valuable thing about How to Cut the Divorce Rate in Half is that McManus does not just curse the darkness—he lights candles in that darkness. He draws a blueprint for how we can substantially remedy the catastrophe of divorce in our nation and how ordinary citizens can make a difference. This is a much-needed and encouraging book.
Dr. Richard Land, President. The Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission

The Catholic Church does not believe in divorce at all, but is encouraged that polls reveal that by a 2-1 margin Americans believe it should “be harder than it is now for married couples with young children to get a civil divorce (61% to 35%).” How To Cut America’s Divorce Rate in Half suggests how to do that, by requiring written mutual consent of both a mother and father before any divorce is granted. By giving the spouse who wants to save the marriage an equal voice with an unhappy mate, many marriages could be restored, perhaps saving most of them.
Bishop Gerald A. Gettelfinger, Catholic Diocese of Evansville

We need to reform our divorce laws, as Mike McManus suggests, replacing unilateral (or “no-fault”) divorce with mutual consent divorce where children are involved. This reform would, in the words of one prominent divorce attorney, “not only influence the decision to divorce, but the behavior and choices that lead to divorce.” McManus recognizes that laws governing marriage and divorce decisively shape people’s understanding of the meaning of marriage and affect their behavior and choices. Laws are not neutral. They have an impact—for better or worse--on the marriage culture. Getting the right laws into place is among the most critical tasks we face.
Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Princeton University

The book Mike McManus has written makes a valuable contribution at this point in our history, on the eve of the election of a new president. He restores the critical focus on divorce law reform that was overtaken and overshadowed by the struggle over same-sex marriage.
Katherine Spaht, Professor Emeritus, Landry Professor of Law, Louisiana State University

With precise reasoning, overwhelming data, and a passionate heart, Mike McManus creates a marriage manifesto. A compelling piece, that when implemented, will systemically and significantly raise the quality of life for all Americans for generations. The evidence is clear and it is time to act. Mike McManus makes a case for churches, social entities and government – both State and National – to act. The more quickly we act the more quickly we will be safer, richer, smarter, stronger, happier and healthier. This is a no-brainer strategy with nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Pastor Jeff Meyers. Christ Lutheran Church, Overland Park, Kansas

In How to Cut America’s Divorce Rate In Half, Mike McManus gives a call to action we must not ignore! In this short book, Mike lays out the facts and figures in a strategy for helping change the divorce culture. Read it, act and let your voice be heard!
David and Claudia Arp, founders Marriage Alive International and authors of “10 Great Dates Before You Say ‘I Do.’”

Michael McManus provides a compelling case for reforming divorce law in America. His policy proposals are right on the money; they would go a long way to renewing the culture of marriage in our nation.
W. Bradford Wilcox, Ph.D., associate professor of sociology at the University of Virginia and member of the James Madison Society, Princeton University