A strategy to minimize marital infidelity among Seventh-day Adventist Church members in the Gweru Urban Territory, Zimbabwe

Abstract

The talk about marital infidelity among members of God’s church, the unhappiness that infidelity causes in the families and the damage that infidelity causes to the reputation and credibility of the church calls for a study of unfaithfulness in marriage as a way of trying to minimize its occurrence in the church. The study was meant to establish the prevalence, causes and impact of marital infidelity in the church and to design and implement a program that would work to minimize infidelity among members of the church. The method that was used in carrying out the research was the mixed method approach that uses both qualitative and quantitative methods. The qualitative aspect of the research utilized focus group discussions and the quantitative aspect used questionnaires as the means to collect data.Three churches were selected for the research. The churches belonged to the same church district with the same pastor. Focus groups were established in each of the three churches and each group had nine members. A total of 75 questionnaires were distributed in the three churches with each church getting 25 sets. The two instruments used showed that infidelity was indeed taking place among church members. A program was designed and implemented to minimize infidelity among members of the church. After the implementation of the program, focus group discussions were held and a questionnaire was distributed in the three selected churches to determine whether the program had helped in curbing infidelity. Indications from the instruments were that some positive outcomes were realized. The conclusions made from the study were that infidelity was taking place in the churches. It was also established that the designed and implemented program was able to help some members to change their attitude towards infidelity and to recommit themselves to marital fidelity. It is to be realized that working to minimize infidelity should be ongoing rather than it to be an event in the church.