Two researchers at Emory University studied 3,000 married couples in the U.S. to determine the factors that predicted divorce. They discovered some surprising statistics that should interest many couples, especially Christian couples:

• Church attendance matters. Couples who said they attend church sometimes had a 10 percent greater chance of divorce. Couples who said they attended church "regularly" had a 46 percent less likely chance of divorce.
• Unconditional, committed love matters. Men are 50 percent more likely to end up divorced when they said their partner's looks were important in their decision to get married, and women are 60 percent more likely to end up divorced when they cared about their partner's wealth, compared to people who said they cared about neither.
• Focusing on the marriage, not just the wedding, matters. "The more you spend on your wedding," Olson notes, "the more likely you'll end up divorced." Shockingly, couples who spend less than $1,000 on their wedding are 53 percent less likely to get divorced, while couples who spend over $20,000 on their wedding are 46 percent more likely to get divorced.
• Going on a honeymoon matters. Yes, by all means, take that honeymoon. Couples who took a honeymoon were 41 percent less likely to get divorced later. Maybe it's the start of a healthy pattern of working on your relationship.