Is Facebook a homewrecker?

A New Jersey pastor — noting a connection between Facebook and adultery — has commanded his married followers to shun the social media site. Is he justified?

Facebook tempts some spouses into infidelity, says one New Jersey pastor.
(Image credit: Corbis)

A New Jersey pastor is grabbing headlines for telling his flock to stay off Facebook. Reverend Cedric A. Miller says he's seen 20 couples in his 1,100-member congregation run into marital troubles in the last six months as a result of a spouse reconnecting with an ex via Facebook. "[The connection] leads to conversations and there have been physical meet-ups," he says. "The temptation is just too great." That's why he's ordering 50 married church officials to delete their Facebook account or face dismissal, and he's "strongly" urging married congregants to sign off as well. Does the pastor have a point? (Watch Rev. Miller defend his position)

Yes — just ask a divorce lawyer: There's data to back up the pastor's claim, notes Kay Moeller at Gather. According to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, 81 percent of its members report that evidence from social networking sites has figured in their divorce cases over the last five years. That's a "high number of married miscreants." Maybe it really is "best" for married people to stay off Facebook, avoid their old flames and just "let sleeping dogs lie."

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