Divorce and Marital Breakdown among Christians in Rwanda: A Comparative Practical-Theological Analysis

Abstract

Background: Divorce and marital breakdown have become increasingly visible in Rwanda within a society that remains overwhelmingly Christian in formal religious affiliation, raising urgent practical-theological questions for churches, families, and public life. Yet the problem cannot be explained adequately by doctrinal decline or legal change alone. Methods: This article employs a qualitative secondary-data design combining critical literature review, comparative case study, legal analysis, and practical-theological interpretation. Rwanda is examined alongside Kenya and Uganda as regional African comparators and the United States and the Philippines as contrasting global cases. Results: The findings indicate that marital breakdown in Rwanda is best explained by multicausal interaction rather than a single dominant driver. Official demographic and judicial evidence points to changing marital patterns, increased public visibility of separation and divorce, and the continuing salience of marital disputes within the civil justice system. Comparative analysis further shows that neither legal permissiveness nor legal restriction alone explains marital instability. Instead, socio-cultural transition, economic strain, intimate partner violence, digital media exposure, changing expectations of intimacy, and weak pastoral formation interact to intensify marital fragility. The study also finds that many churches maintain doctrinal opposition to divorce while underinvesting in premarital catechesis, conflict intervention, safeguarding, trauma-aware care, and post-crisis pastoral accompaniment. Conclusions: A Sola Scriptura pastoral response must therefore move beyond prohibition-centered discourse toward a thicker model of covenantal discipleship that holds together marital fidelity, justice, protection of the vulnerable, disciplined reconciliation, and responsible post-divorce care. The article contributes a Rwanda-centered comparative practical-theological framework for interpreting Christian marital breakdown in a rapidly changing society and for strengthening church-based pastoral response.