Of the 10 Southern states, Alabama has one of the highest divorce rates.
With a population of 4.3 million people, Akabama has more than one million Southern Baptists – and a majority of evangelical Protestants.
It is said that Baptists have the highest divorce rate of any Christian denomination, and are more likely to divorce than atheists and agnostics, according to a national survey conducted by Barna Research Group in Ventura, California, which found that 29 percent of all adult Baptists have had a divorce.
Alabama ranks fourth nationally in divorce rates, behind Nevada, Tennessee and Arkansas, according to U.S. government statistics.
Alabama is one of the few states that recognizes common law marriages. Couples who cohabitate without marriage are subject to (sometimes ambiguous) common law marriage tests if a separation is imminent, and may be required to go through a formalized "divorce process" to legally conclude their relationship.
A proposed Alabama divorce law would require a one-year "cooling off" period for divorce petitioners with minor children, who may experience changes of mind and/or heart over such issues as reconciliation, child support and custody during that time.
