# Divorce and Remarriage Permitted Only for Sexual Immorality

## Watchtower Teaching

> JWs restrict biblical grounds for divorce and remarriage to porneia (sexual immorality) alone, based on a narrow reading of Matthew 19:9. The organisation does not recognise abandonment, desertion, or physical abuse as grounds that free the innocent party to remarry. A Witness who divorces an abusive but sexually faithful spouse and later remarries faces a judicial committee for adultery. First Corinthians 7:15 is acknowledged but read as permission to separate, not to remarry — the "freedom" is interpreted as freedom from cohabitation only. The result is a pastoral policy that traps abused members in legal limbo.

## Key Implication

If porneia is the only ground Jesus permits for ending a marriage, then Paul contradicts Jesus in 1 Corinthians 7:15 — which JWs cannot accept but also cannot resolve. Paul writes that a believer whose unbelieving spouse departs 'is not bound' (ou dedoulōtai), using the same verb Paul uses elsewhere for release from the marriage bond itself (1 Cor 7:39; Rom 7:2). The text does not say 'not bound to cohabit' — it says 'not bound' full stop. And Scripture elsewhere treats cruelty as breaking the covenant (Mal 2:16; Exod 21:10–11). The Watchtower's policy produces the opposite of its stated concern for marriage: it protects the abuser's legal standing at the cost of the abused spouse's safety and future.

## Watchtower Sources

- The Watchtower, 15 Jun 2009, pp. 29–31 — 'When the Marriage Tie Is Broken'
- Shepherd the Flock of God (elders' manual), ch. 12
- Insight on the Scriptures, 'Divorce'

## Also Known As

porneia only, grounds for divorce, divorce remarriage JW, abuse not grounds for divorce, abandonment not grounds, judicial committee divorce, scriptural divorce, Matthew 19:9 JW, 1 Corinthians 7:15 JW, remarriage adultery, divorce abusive spouse, abused wife JW, separation without remarriage, JW marriage policy, no fault divorce JW

## Counter-Arguments (3)

- [The Bible Belt Divorce Paradox — What Glass and Levchak Actually Found](/arguments/glass-levchak-divorce-study-response.md) — Engage the study on its own terms, not as a weapon [Practice]
- [The Low JW Divorce Rate Is a Statistical Artifact of Exit, Not a Sign of Healthy Marriages](/arguments/jw-divorce-statistical-artifact.md) — When unhappy spouses leave the religion instead of the marriage, the numbers lie [Practice]
- [The Watchtower's Narrow Reading of Matthew 19:9 — and Its Pastoral Cost](/arguments/jw-remarriage-matthew-19.md) — Porneia, abuse, and the spouses who cannot leave [Practice]