The Origins of No-Fault Divorce

Historically, a secular divorce required grounds for why it was happening which includes but is not limited to adultery, abandonment, cruelty, criminal conviction, infertility, and mental illness. Irreconcilable differences were grounds for divorce.

No-Fault Divorce is a relatively new phenomenon. It was not a traditional concept that one could divorce a spouse merely because they don’t like the other, but Western society is treading a path which creates dangers in the destruction of family values. Before the holiness of marriage was destroyed, the holiness of divorce was long dead.

In 1969, when Ronald Reagan was the governor of California, he signed a clause to allow No-Fault Divorce in his state. He later admitted that it was the biggest mistake in his political career. The dangers of No-Fault Divorce is that a person can get divorced without any reason or basis. The slippery slope of No-Fault Divorce paved the way for the chain-reaction of events which deeply affected Jewish life in Western Society.

At this time, every state in America allows for No-Fault Divorce. By 1983, every American state except for New York and South Dakota had enacted No-Fault Divorce. In 1985, South Dakota had allowed it. In 2010, the State of New York was the last state to legalize it. Every state in America allows for No-Fault Divorce formally enact such a policy. The exact policies for how it works depends on the state. The United Kingdom formally passed a law recognizing No-Fault Divorce in 2020 which only came into effect in 2022. The USA has the highest divorce rate in the English world.

The Torah does not promote No-Fault Divorce because it is a completely Non-Jewish concept. The best way for an American couple to divorce is through a practice that is collaborative or involves mediation where they work with professionals to help negotiate and settle the issues pertaining to assets that become divided in the act of divorce. Reaching a mutual agreement in the act of getting divorce is significant as this prevents wars with the spouse from taking place.

Women are negatively affected by No-Fault Divorce because it has allowed for men to impregnate women and then abandon them. The culture of No-Fault Divorce encourages the dissolution of loyalty in a relationship by not making the entire relationship, including the divorce, a bilateral concept.