Faith Coalition

Oklahoma's religious institutions play a vital role in strengthening marriages. Over 75% of first marriages take place in a religious institution, so the ability to impact couples at a time of happiness and optimism is great. To date, churches and religious leaders have arguably been the most active in instigating and establishing divorce-reducing plans in communities across the country, and the OMI aims to provide Oklahoma faith leaders with access to resources to help them build upon current services for families. The goal is to provide even greater services and supports for couples, at various points throughout the relationship. According to the OSU Baseline Survey, couples say that, if their marriage were in trouble, they would go to the church as the number one help-seeking institution.

The faith sector leaders in Oklahoma have been a leading partner of the Oklahoma Marriage Initiative. In an active show of support and commitment to the work of the OMI, over 1,000 faith leaders across the state have signed the Oklahoma Marriage Covenant, committing to better equip couples for marriage prior to agreeing to perform the ceremony.