UPDATE: Alan writes that he just went ahead and created a user profile on eHarmony for an atheist who “drinks regularly, willing to date anyone, and answered “no” to every religious question.” He says he found plenty of matches in his area. So it would seem that eHarmony is not denying people based on religion but on other factors. The criteria are described by Dr. Warren, the founder of eHarmony.com, in this Salon article pointed to us by Jon.
Scattered through the mushy stuff are questions that are actually fun to answer — but still super important. These are questions that potential matches can see your answers to and serve as a fun conversation starter or an easy way to tell if you would get along. They'll be anything from "Do dogs go to heaven?" to "If you woke up with a fever on the morning of an important meeting, what would you do?" Basically, they're trying to find out about your work ethic, political preferences, what you value in life, and other quirky things that I honestly think matter just as much as communication and patience.
"At the very best, it's been a painful way for a lot of people to have to live. But at this point, at this age, I want America to start drawing together. I want it to be more harmonious," Warren added.
And that's clearly something users hold near and dear, because they keep coming back. In 2013, eharmony ranked first in creating marriages compared to other dating sites, and is apparently responsible for creating 4% of marriages in the U.S. They're pretty confident in their matchmaking abilities, too, because they make a guarantee that if you're not satisfied in three months, they'll give you another three months for free. And honestly, it's comforting to know that this shit works. (Don't believe us? Read these success stories and weep, y'all.)
You can't expect to make multiple matches a day. Not being able to browse the dating pool at all will probably be a new concept to most, and having extremely limited freedom can definitely turn into a pain. But it's clear that the people you've picked by yourself in the past weren't the right choices, so it may be time to sit back and let eharmony take the wheel.
When I was interviewed and hired, at no point was it mentioned to me that it was a Christian dating service. I began to get a little suspicious when the only other customer service person they had hired was an old friend of Dr. Warren’s. He sat behind me with a Bible on his desk.
I do have one bone to pick with eharmony during these profile questions, though: They served me questions about church and God when I specifically said I wasn't religious. And it's not just the questions that were the issue — it was the selection of responses.
It's always something, isn't it? If you're not catching feelings for people who just want to hook up, you're six months deep having the "What are we?" conversation with someone who is definitely too old to still be playing games.
The answer is no. It is considered to be a secular site. But if the question is, “Can Christians find love on eharmony?” then we’d say yes. We know many believers who have. (Check out some of their stories here, here, and here.)
EHarmony is an online dating website that uses patented algorithms to match singles via 29 compatibility dimensions.
