Joseph
“SJS – Those same communities that date less, generally have happier marriages (in addition to less divorces.)”
That is completley incorrect.
A family friend of ours is a social worker who councels many people who are terribly unhappy in their marriges (and are even being abused) from those communities that date less.
You cannnot belive the number of people from those communities that want out of their marrige but they don’t want to get divorce because then they will get a bad name-divorcing is very tabbo in their communities.
And just because people are married that doesn’t mean that they are happy or are not being abused in a marrige.
You have no idea who really has a happy marrige as you are not with every couple in the community that you are refering to 24/7
People that are in an abusive relationship it is very difficult for them to walk away.
A woman told me that she was in an abusive marrige for 15 years and she finally got the guts to get a divorce.
I am not sure if you are aware now but Gedolim have come out strongly today saying that a couple needs to date at least 8-10 times with the “Divorce?broken engagment criss”.