Scripture does not name it directly, which is why many traditions treat it under desertion - the marriage has been abandoned in substance. Pastoral practice is broadly protective here even where doctrine is strict.

Christians read it differently

Is it a sin to remarry after divorce?

Q: Does Jesus permit divorce?

He permits it for sexual immorality in Matthew, and Mark and Luke record the saying without the exception. How to fit those accounts together is one of the roots of the disagreement.

Q: Is remarriage adultery?

Traditions that read the exception narrowly say yes for the guilty party, and often for both. Those that read it as permitting remarriage say no for the innocent party. Both cite the same verse.

Q: What is an annulment?

In Catholic practice, a finding that a valid marriage never existed, on grounds such as coercion or incapacity to consent. It is not a divorce by another name, though it is often described that way.

One of the sharpest divisions in Christian practice

Two plain wedding rings on a wooden table, one worn and one new, in the same light.

In short

Christians divide genuinely here. Jesus permits divorce for sexual immorality, Paul adds a case where an unbelieving spouse leaves, and traditions disagree about whether those exceptions permit remarriage or only separation. This is not a question with a consensus answer, and pretending otherwise would be dishonest.

What the text says

Matthew 19:9

And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.

Three words carry centuries of argument. Whether the exception releases someone to remarry, or only permits the separation, is what divides the traditions - and the Greek does not settle it.

1 Corinthians 7:15 was the verse of the day on August 8, 2025. See that day

Often brought in1 Corinthians 7:15

But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace.

Paul adds a second case: an unbelieving spouse who departs. What 'not under bondage' releases the believer to do is exactly what is disputed.

The counterweightMalachi 2:16

For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.

God's stated hatred of divorce, in a passage about men discarding wives. It sets the weight against which every exception has to be read.

What Christians agree on

Divorce is a grief and never a neutral event. Every tradition takes the marriage bond seriously and none treats remarriage as trivial. All of them also make room for the abandoned and the abused, though they do it differently.

Where they disagree

Catholic teaching

A valid consummated marriage cannot be dissolved. Remarriage without an annulment is not permitted, and an annulment is a finding that no valid marriage existed rather than a dissolution of one.

Mark 10:9

Orthodox practice

Remarriage is permitted, with a penitential rite, out of pastoral concern for human weakness. The second marriage is treated as a concession rather than a celebration.

1 Corinthians 7:15

Most Protestant teaching

The exceptions Jesus and Paul give are real: adultery and desertion free the innocent party to remarry. Many extend this to abuse as a form of desertion.

Matthew 19:9

Questions worth asking

What does my own tradition actually teach, as opposed to what I assume?
Have I spoken to a pastor or priest about my specific situation rather than the general case?
If I am carrying guilt about a marriage that ended, is that guilt about what I did or about what happened to me?

People arrive at this question after something painful, not out of curiosity. Whatever your tradition concludes, no Christian teaching holds that a divorced person is beyond grace, and every one of them has pastoral provision for exactly this situation. That provision exists to be used.