You've probably heard the glibly-quoted statistic: "Well, you know that 50 percent of marriages end in divorce, and it's the same—or worse—for Christians." But did you ever see the statistics to back that number up? Me either. In fact, the number came from projections in the late 1970s and early 80s of anticipated rising divorce rates for decades to come. But the actual numbers have never even been close to the "half of all marriages" mark.

Researcher Shaunti Feldhahn, disappointed at the pervasive "50 percent myth, set out to bring together better data for an accurate story. Her findings? The data is complex, but closer to 20-25 percent of marriages end in divorce, and even less—perhaps as low as the single digits—of churchgoing spouses part ways. The actual average? About 80 percent of marriages are happy, at least happy enough to stay together.

Feldhahn said, "I started coming across all this data that seemed to completely contradict the conventional wisdom. Like that according to 2009 Census Bureau numbers, 72 percent of people are still married to their first spouse—and the 28% who aren't, includes people who were married for years until a spouse died! When I would share some of those numbers with people, the reactions were sometimes dramatic. Standing in front of me, I saw the difference between being defeated and feeling hopeful."