Divorce Rates Drop, as well as Marriage Rates

Yesterday, the New York Times decided to print statistics showing that the rate of divorce, often erroneously quoted as being 50%, has been steadily declining for decades, but the driving forces are not encouraging as more people chose to marry later in life, or never at all.

“Two-thirds of divorces are initiated by women, so when you’re talking about changes in divorce rates, in many ways you’re talking about changes in women’s expectations.”
-- William Doherty, marriage therapist, University of Minnesota

For background, click headlines below to read previous articles:

Marriage Rates Low Among Millennial Generation

Young Adults Rarely Marry, Seniors Divorce Often

Fewer Get Married, but Stay Married: Census

Marriage Trend: Confined within Church

One-third of Households are People Living Alone

Most Non-committal Cohabitants' First Marriage Ends

More Women Shack Up & Give Birth; Marriage Rare

Also read ObamaNation: Perpetual Poor Barred from Marriage


-- From "The Truth About The Divorce Rate Is Surprisingly Optimistic" by Brittany Wong, The Huffington Post 12/2/14

We've all heard that 50 percent of marriages in the U.S. end in divorce.

And while that disheartening stat continues to get tossed around, the divorce rate isn't really at 50 percent -- and it isn't rising either. In fact, a new piece in the New York Times' data blog Upshot suggests that the divorce rate has actually been dropping for some time now. Looking at the numbers, the Times suggests the high divorce rate of the late 1970s and early 1980s may have just been a "historical anomaly," rather than a trend.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Everything you heard about divorce is wrong, sort of" by Herb Scribner, Deseret News 12/2/14

. . . Later marriages are a trend I wrote about back in October. Since the Great Recession of 2008, women have found more job opportunities than men, giving them a leg up in becoming the breadwinner at home and causing many of them to seek out men who have their finances and future secured.

Young millennial women are also sidestepping marriage to focus on personal goals ahead of forming a family, according to Deseret News National’s Emily Hales. Young women are putting other priorities — a career, having children and cohabitating — ahead of marriage, even though it’s something they really want, Hales wrote. It doesn’t help, either, that young marriages are also more likely to end in divorce, the Pew Research Center found, which has motivated youngsters to wait for marriage.

But only time will tell whether or not the divorce rate is truly declining. Family Studies reported older men and women, especially baby boomers, are divorcing at unprecedented rates. And if you adjust the current divorce rates by age, the divorce rate actually peaked in 2011 with a 40 percent increase, Family Studies reported.

And many divorce rate numbers don’t take into account the rise in cohabitating couples, who don’t always marry but still end up in separation, as Bradford Wilcox wrote about in 2013.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "The Divorce Surge Is Over, but the Myth Lives On" by Claire Cain Miller, New York Times 12/2/14

About 70 percent of marriages that began in the 1990s reached their 15th anniversary (excluding those in which a spouse died), up from about 65 percent of those that began in the 1970s and 1980s. Those who married in the 2000s are so far divorcing at even lower rates. If current trends continue, nearly two-thirds of marriages will never involve a divorce, according to data from Justin Wolfers, a University of Michigan economist (who also contributes to The Upshot).

Of college-educated people who married in the early 2000s, only about 11 percent divorced by their seventh anniversary, the last year for which data is available. Among people without college degrees, 17 percent were divorced, according to Mr. Wolfers.

Working-class families often have more traditional notions about male breadwinners than do the college-educated — yet economic changes have left many of the men in these families struggling to find work. As a result, many wait to achieve a level of stability that never comes and thus never marry, while others split up during tough economic times.

Some of the decline in divorce clearly stems from the fact that fewer people are getting married — and some of the biggest declines in marriage have come among groups at risk of divorce. But it also seems to be the case that marriages have gotten more stable, as people are marrying later.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read Where Liberalism Flourishes, Population Diminishes

And read Utopian Dream Shattered by Reality of Birth Rate

In addition, read Married Birthing Nearly Extinct Among Non-college Grads and preview the violent and dismal economic future of an America without intact families as President Obama Replaces Fathers with Government Mentors

Arizona Court: 'Pregnant Man' Can Divorce 'Wife'

The Arizona Court of Appeals ruled that an Arizona mother of several children, who lives as a bearded man after having her breasts removed, is free to divorce the co-mother of three of her children, whom she "married" in Hawaii — now desiring to marry a third woman — despite the Arizona constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one person with male DNA and another person with female DNA.

These days, "you can't tell the players without a scorecard."

For background, read Pregnant 'Man' of Transgender 'Couple' and also read Surgical 'Miracle:' First Genderless Person

Also read how activist judges across America are forbidding voters the right to define marriage as between one man and one woman, however a few lone judges are ruling for the constitutionality of natural marriage.

-- From "Arizona Appeals Court: 'Pregnant Man' can get a divorce" by Michael Kiefer, The Arizona Republic 8/14/14

[Thomas] Beatie, 40, was born female, but in 1997, he began testing to determine his psychological gender, and in 2002 underwent the first of his gender-reassignment surgeries. Under Hawaiian law, he was able to have his birth certificate amended and be legally recognized as male. He subsequently married.

Because his wife was unable to conceive children, and because Beatie still had female reproductive organs, he was artificially inseminated and became pregnant.

Then he hit the talk-show and tabloid circuit as the "The Pregnant Man," posing with his manly beard and chest and his very pregnant belly. He gave birth to his first child in 2008 and had two more by 2011.

But in March 2013, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Douglas Gerlach ruled that Beatie's marriage was between two females because Beatie had given birth. Same-sex marriage is illegal in Arizona.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Same-sex-marriage ban can't stop transgender divorce" by Howard Fischer Capitol Media Services 8/13/14

Thomas obtained an amended birth certificate after getting what Hawaii required: an affidavit from a doctor testifying that psychological and medical testing determined his “true gender” to be male. He also went through some surgery to change his appearance.

In an unusual decision, the judges said the only relevant fact for an Arizona judge to consider is whether the state that solemnized the marriage recognized the spouse as male.

Judge Kenton Jones, writing for the unanimous appellate court, said it would be a constitutional violation for Arizona to fail to accept Hawaii’s decision this was a heterosexual couple.

But the court made it clear that it was not saying that same-sex couples legally married elsewhere could seek a divorce in Arizona.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "VICTORY! Marriages of Transgender People Ruled Valid by Courts in Arizona and California" posted at Transgender Law Center

The Arizona Court of Appeals echoed the arguments made in Transgender Law Center’s amicus brief that because “the right to have children is a liberty interest afforded special constitutional protection”—“one of the basic civil rights of man”—it would not interpret the Arizona or Hawaii gender-change statute as “prohibit[ing] giving birth as a prerequisite to gender redesignation.” The court also held that to deny Thomas Beatie legal recognition as male “would run afoul of the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution.”

“Divorce is hard enough as it is. Nobody expects the government to contest it. After two and a half long years, I’ve finally been legally vindicated and validated not only as a husband, father, and a man, but as a human being,” said Beatie. “Hopefully now, other transgender people in Arizona and throughout the country don’t have to live in fear of their marriages, families, and identities being challenged and disrespected just because of who they are.”

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read how All American Taxpayers Now Fund Elderly Sex Changes

In addition, read Transgenderism is a 'Delusion' According to Victim

Pope Open to Homosexual Civil Unions, Media Report

Once again, the mainstream media leaped to put words in Pope Francis' mouth.  Numerous reports explicitly claim that the Pope supports same-sex civil unions as well as legally-sanctioned heterosexual cohabitation, when he never said any such thing, and again media are reporting that the Pope is evolving toward women clergy.

"I see a glimmer of hope that I'm hoping will open up into a floodlight into this conversation . . ."
-- Jon O'Brien, president of Catholics for Choice

For background, read Liberal Media Say Pope Francis OKs Gay & Women Priests but actually the Pope Said the Gay Agenda is the Work of the Devil, and also the Pope Disappoints Liberals by Opposing 'Gay Adoption.'

Also read Pope's New Spanish Cardinal Says 'Gay Gene' is a Defect

In addition, read Pope Francis Decries Abortion; Vatican Says Media Distort Him

-- From "Pope Francis: Church could support same-sex civil unions" by CNN, posted at WPIX-TV11 (NY) 3/5/14

Pope Francis reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s opposition to gay marriage on Wednesday, but suggested in a newspaper interview that it could support same-sex civil unions.

For instance, civil unions provide financial security to cohabitating couples, “as for instance in medical care,” the Pope said in a wide-ranging interview published Wednesday in Corriere della Sera, an Italian daily.

A number of Catholic bishops have supported civil unions for gay couples, including Pope Francis when he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires in 2010, according to reports in National Catholic Reporter and The New York Times.

On the role of women in the church, an issue of particular concern to Catholics in the United States, the Pope hinted that changes could be in the works.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From  "Did Pope Francis open the door to same-sex civil unions?" by Joshua Normanm, CBS News 3/5/14

Pope Francis has famously declared a cessation of hostilities in the culture wars on same-sex marriage, contraception, and abortion that had defined the Catholic Church for much of the modern era.

On Wednesday, he signaled a new direction in that regard when discussing civil unions in a short but wide-ranging interview . . . he explained why he thought civil unions were created in the first place. . . . in a translation of the interview provided by John Thavis, the former Rome bureau chief for Catholic News Services (CNS.)

The Vatican has as recently as January said the pope and the Catholic Church are not open to same-sex civil unions, and Thavis told CBS News the pope's wording was deliberately vague in the most recent interview.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Pope, in interview, suggests church could tolerate some civil unions" by Francis X. Rocca, Catholic News Service 3/5/14

"Matrimony is between a man and a woman," the pope said, but moves to "regulate diverse situations of cohabitation (are) driven by the need to regulate economic aspects among persons, as for instance to assure medical care." Asked to what extent the church could understand this trend, he replied: "It is necessary to look at the diverse cases and evaluate them in their variety."

Asked if the church's teachings on sexual and medical ethics represented "non-negotiable values," a formulation used by Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis said he had "never understood the expression 'non-negotiable values.'"

"Values are values, period," he said. "I cannot say that, among the fingers of a hand, there is one less useful than another. That is why I cannot understand in what sense there could be negotiable values."

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Catholic Church on Homosexual Acts: ‘Under No Circumstances Can They Be Approved’" by Michael W. Chapman, CNSNews.com 3/5/14

When asked how the Church could address the issue, Pope Francis said, “It is necessary to look at the diverse cases and evaluate them in their variety.”  The Pope did not say that civil unions – “diverse situations of cohabitation” – were impermissible, but that the “diverse cases” could be evaluated “in their variety.”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that “homosexual persons are called to chastity.” (2359) The Catechism further says, “Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that ‘homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.’ They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.” (2357)

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Women Could Have Greater Role in Church, Says Pope" by Deborah Ball, Wall Street Journal 3/5/14

The Vatican could soon make significant changes to the role of women in the Catholic Church and to its approach to divorcées, Pope Francis said in a newspaper interview.

Some Vatican experts have raised the possibility of the pope appointing women to senior positions in the Vatican bureaucracy, perhaps as the head of one of its powerful departments.

But the pope suggested even bigger changes could be in store, with a senior cardinal now consulting female experts in considering possible options.

Some church leaders advocate making women deacons, ordained ministers who can assist at Mass or perform baptisms, although the pope made no reference to such a possibility.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read Pope Francis Cracks Down on American Liberal Nuns, Priests

Young Adults Rarely Marry, Seniors Divorce Often

Whereas much study of marriage rates focus on the young delaying marriage, now a study shows that the Baby Boom generation is characterized by early-life divorce, then remarriage, then divorce again -- often times repeatedly.  Just as previous studies, this one shows that the longer a couple is married, the less likely they are to divorce.

Although it is often said that men prefer their independence, two-thirds of all divorce filings are by women, and most significantly among those over age 50.

". . . rising female labor force participation is also conducive to divorce in that women have the economic autonomy (e.g., employment, retirement benefits) to support themselves outside of marriage. . . . Life-long marriages are increasingly difficult to sustain in an era of individualism and lengthening life expectancies . . ."

For background, read Family Demise, as 1/3 of Households are People Alone and also read Marriage Trend: Confined within Church as well as Fewer Get Married, but Stay Married: Census

Also read the dismal stats on divorce following cohabitation-then-marriage.

-- From "Study: Divorce Rate In Older Adults Doubles" posted at CBS Cleveland 7/22/13

. . . a study has found that the divorce rate among older adults has more than doubled since 1980 and one in four persons who gets a divorce today is over age 50.

The goal of the study was to document trends, patterns, and correlate the risk of divorce among older adults. Researchers drew on information collected in the 2009 American Community Survey, which measures divorces that occurred in the past 12 months to estimate the divorce rate for older adults.

The 2009 survey was collected by the U.S. Census Bureau and the sample is weighted to represent the entire U.S. population. Respondents are asked whether they experienced a divorce in the past 12 months as well as whether they were widowed during this time frame.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Marriage Rate Declines To Historic Low, Study Finds" reported by Huffington Post 7/22/13

A new report released Thursday by Bowling Green State University's National Center for Marriage and Family Research found that the U.S. marriage rate is 31.1, or 31 marriages per 1,000 unmarried women. That means for every 1,000 unmarried women in the U.S., 31 of those previously single women tied the knot in the last year. For comparison, in 1920, the national marriage rate was 92.3.

Meanwhile, the average age at women's first marriage is 27 years old, its highest point in over a century.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Divorced Women In America On The Rise, According To New Research" reported by Huffington Post 7/22/13

. . . 15 percent of women in the U.S. are divorced or separated today, compared with less than one percent in 1920. Researchers utilized data from the National Vital Statistics, Decennial Census, and American Community Survey in making their assessment.

Past research has indicated that women file for divorce more often than men. According to a report titled "'These Boots Are Made For Walking': Why Most Divorce Filers Are Women," published by the American Law and Economics Review in 2000, women file more than two-thirds of divorces in the U.S.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "The Gray Divorce Revolution: Rising Divorce among Middle-aged and Older Adults, 1990-2009" by Susan L. Brown and I-Fen Lin, Bowling Green State University

The divorce rate among adults ages 50 and older doubled between 1990 and 2009. Roughly 1 in 4 divorces in 2009 occurred to persons ages 50 and older. Sociodemographic factors, including age group, race-ethnicity, education, and the marital biography were associated with the risk of divorce in 2009. The rate of divorce was 2.5 times higher for those in remarriages versus first marriages. And, the divorce rate declined as marital duration rose.

. . . Many older adults that are currently divorced actually experienced divorce much earlier in the life course.

. . . We anticipate that the rate of divorce among middle-aged and older adults may have increased since 1990 as cohorts (e.g., the Baby Boomers) that came of age during the rapid acceleration of divorce during the 1970s and early 1980s reach age 50 and beyond. Most divorced people eventually remarry and remarriages are at greater risk of divorce than first marriages, meaning that in the coming decades greater proportions of middle-aged and older marrieds—who are actually remarrieds—face a higher risk of divorce.

. . . There is some racial and ethnic variation in the risk of divorce among those ages 50 and older, with Whites (8.7 divorced persons per 1,000 married persons) experiencing the lowest rate of divorce and Blacks the highest (18.6 divorced persons per 1,000 married persons). Hispanics are in the middle (12 divorced persons per 1,000 married persons). The divorce rate also differs by education. Those with a college degree experience a considerably smaller risk of divorce (8.4 divorced persons per 1,000 married persons ages 50 and older) compared to those with lower levels of education (the divorce rate ranges from 9.6-11 divorced persons per 1,000 married persons ages 50 and older among those with less than a college degree). But perhaps the most striking differentials are those for marital biography. The risk of divorce varies dramatically by both marriage order and marital duration. The rate of divorce among those ages 50 and older is 2.5 times higher for individuals in remarriages than first marriages. During middle age, the divorce rate is about 2 times greater for remarrieds than first marrieds. During older adulthood, the differential approaches a factor of 4. In terms of marital duration, the divorce rate among individuals ages 50 and older is 10 times greater for those married 0-9 years versus those married 40 or more years. The rate of divorce declines roughly linearly with rising marital duration. The stark differences in the rate of divorce in first versus higher order marriages and by marital duration suggest that the marital biography is central to the risk of divorce during middle and older adulthood.

To read the entire study above, CLICK HERE.

Also read Violence & Poverty due to Absence of Intact Family

Most Disgusted with American Morals, Yet Favor Sin

According to this month's polls from Gallup, the vast majority of Americans do NOT view the state of moral values in the nation as good, and expect it to get worse.  Yet, at the same time, the vast majority say the following are acceptable: homosexual behavior, childbirth outside of marriage, fornication, divorce, and killing unborn children for medical research.

For background on moral decay in America, read any post from the thousands-long archive list at the side of this webpage.

UPDATE 6/9/15: Most Liberals Say American Morals Getting Worse

-- From "Poll: Outlook on U.S. moral values pessimistic" by UPI 5/22/13

Seventy-two percent of respondents said they think moral values in the country generally are worsening, essentially unchanged from 73 percent last year, results of Gallup's annual Values and Beliefs survey released Wednesday indicated.

Forty-four percent of respondents rated the state of moral values in the United States as "poor," the Princeton, N.J., polling agency said. Forty-three percent expressed the same view last year.

Nineteen percent said the state of moral values in the United States was "excellent" or "good," while 36 percent say they are "only fair," Gallup said.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Gallup poll: Most Americans think the country’s lost its moral compass" by Cheryl Wetzstein, The Washington Times 5/22/13

The random poll, conducted by telephone of 1,535 adults, also found pessimism to be strongest among Republicans (87 percent) and political independents (68 percent), compared with Democrats (56 percent).

Pessimism was more than 60 percent in all groups of Americans, regardless of breakdowns by annual household income, marital status or religious attendance.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Gallup Poll: Majority Now Say Gay Sex, Unwed Births, Are Morally OK" by Napp Nazworth, Christian Post Reporter 5/21/13

In the new survey, 59 percent of American adults answered that gay or lesbian relations are morally acceptable, a 19 percentage point increase since 2001 when only 40 percent said it was morally acceptable.

Sixty percent of respondents said that having a baby outside of marriage was morally acceptable, a 15 percentage point increase since 2002 when only 45 percent said it was morally acceptable.

The other large increases in moral acceptability were: sex between an unmarried man and woman went from 53 to 63 percent, divorce went from 59 to 63 percent, and medical research using stem cells from human embryos went from 52 to 60 percent.

The moral acceptability of abortion remained the same as it was in 2001, at 42 percent. There was little change in the moral acceptability of pornography (31 percent), gambling (64 percent), buying and wearing clothing made of animal fur (59 percent), and the death penalty (62 percent).

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

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Violence & Poverty due to Absence of Intact Family

America will not see improvement so long as it's politically incorrect to publicly identify the root causes of the nation's social ills:  Children raised without their father and/or mother, and absent married parents.

"[In one] neighborhood in Southeast Washington, 1 in 10 children live with both parents, and 84 percent live with only their mother."

UPDATE 4/16/15: Decades of Income Inequality is due to Demise of Married-parent Families with Children, Study Shows

For background, read Liberalism Causes Poverty in America: Study and also read Unwed Mothers in Poorer Health: Study as well as Marriage Essential for Children: Studies

Need we be reminded? 44% of 'Middle America' Births are Out of Wedlock

-- From "Fathers disappear from households across America" by Luke Rosiak, The Washington Times 12/25/12

In every state, the portion of families where children have two parents, rather than one, has dropped significantly over the past decade. Even as the country added 160,000 families with children, the number of two-parent households decreased by 1.2 million. Fifteen million U.S. children, or 1 in 3, live without a father, and nearly 5 million live without a mother. In 1960, just 11 percent of American children lived in homes without fathers.

The spiral continues each year. Married couples with children have an average income of $80,000, compared with $24,000 for single mothers.

The near-total absence of male role models has ripped a hole the size of half the population in urban areas.

In all but 11 states, most black children do not live with both parents. In every state, 7 in 10 white children do. In all states but Rhode Island and Massachusetts, most Hispanic children do. In Wisconsin, 77 percent of white children and 61 percent of Hispanics live with both parents, compared with more than 25 percent of black children.

The largest geographic area of sustained fatherlessness contains the rural, largely black poor across Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana, tributaries of broken homes running 400 miles along the Mississippi River from Memphis, Tenn., where in some neighborhoods 82 percent of children live with their mothers alone, to Baton Rouge, La., in parts of which less than one-fifth of children have both parents at home.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Calling All Fathers: Absence of the male parent takes a huge toll" by The Syracuse Post-Standard Editorial Board 12/26/12

“Father absence on black families has been associated with psychological problems in the child and with a reduction of goal orientation in the mother. For black boys it has been found to be related to juvenile delinquency ... and a tendency toward either poor masculine identification or compensatory masculinity in adolescence. Among black women, father absence during their childhood may increase the likelihood that they will themselves raise children without a husband.”

That passage may sound obvious to some, offensive to others. But the insights are hardly new. They come from a book published in 1974 by University of California Professor David B. Lynn.

When Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick tramped into the minefield of the single-parent debate earlier this month at the DeWitt Rotary Club, County Legislator Linda Ervin reacted. Someone had asked Fitzpatrick about a group of pre-teen boys who allegedly robbed a woman near Le Moyne College recently. “His answer was that if we stop making it easy, with public assistance, for single mothers to have more and more babies, we could solve this problem,” Ervin recalled.

Later, Fitzpatrick told staff writer Rick Moriarty he’s been preaching this message for decades. “Unfortunately, the welfare system is set up to reward irresponsibility,” he said. Children who grow up with little supervision all too easily turn to crime, he said, noting the risk is 90 percent higher than in households with two parents.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "72 Percent of African-American Children Are Raised in Single Parent Homes" by Kevin Webb, Atlanta Black Star 12/23/12

A staggering number of African-American children are raised in single parent homes, compared to the rest of America, and the rest of the world. A study conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development found that 25.8 percent of American children are raised by a single parent, a number high above the 14.9 percent average seen in the other 26 countries surveyed. Among African-Americans the rate nearly tripled, with 72 percent of black children relying on a single parent.

No doubt the prevalence of divorce has introduced single-parenthood as common place in the U.S., but the figures are disproportionally high for African-Americans. Reasons for the disparity among blacks could stem from any number of reasons, ranging from the American justice system, to pregnancy among young unmarried couples. In addition to the number of black single parents, almost three in four black children are born outside of marriage. The reality is that recognizing or even curbing the trend does not work to the benefit of young single mothers already raising children.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "University of Texas professor blames poor black academic performance on single moms" by Kunbi Tinuoye, The Grio - NBC News 12/12/12

A professor at the University of Texas has sparked controversy following remarks that black students are failing academically because so many are raised in single parent households.

In an interview with BBC’s Radio 4, law professor Lino Graglia said “I can hardly imagine a less beneficial or more deleterious experience than to be raised by a single parent,” Graglia said. “Usually a female, uneducated and without a lot of money.”

He went onto to say, on average, prospective black college students score 200 points lower than their white counterparts in SAT tests. According to the 82-year-old almost three-quarters of black children are born outside of marriage, which stifles their success.

. . . the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) demanded [Graglia] resign issuing a resolution which stated: ‘Graglia believes that minority students come from a culture of failure.”

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read Liberals Admit to Destruction of African Americans as well as 'Intact Family' Nearly Extinct among Blacks

UPDATE 7/22/13: Bill O'Reilly (click for video)

Most Non-committal Cohabitants' First Marriage Ends

A report by the federal CDC National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) shows that the best chance for a decades-long, first-time marriage is a college-educated religious couple without previous illegitimate children, AND who did NOT cohabit prior to a formal wedding engagement.

Note (below) how many ways the mainstream media spins the statistics in this government report.

For background, read Marriage Trend: Confined within Church and also read Fewer Get Married, but Stay Married: Census as well as Cohabitation Soars, Children Suffer: Study



-- From "College degree, religious faith help marriages ‘survive’ to 20th year" by Cheryl Wetzstein, The Washington Times 3/22/12

. . . although relatively few - one in five - first marriages fail within five years, they are likely to be associated with characteristics like marrying as a teen, coming from a single-parent home and not having a child together after marriage.

Conversely, marriages that reached their 20-year anniversary were associated with having a college degree, having a religious life, not cohabiting before marriage and not having previous marriages or children from previous relationships, the report said.

. . . the new data show that of married women with a high-school education, 59 percent divorced before their 20th anniversary. In contrast, 78 percent of married women with bachelor’s degrees reached their 20th anniversary.

“The only good news is that federal data also suggest that married couples with children have seen their divorce rates come down since the 1980s,” [said sociology professor W. Bradford Wilcox, who also directs the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia].

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Living together before marriage no longer seen as bad omen; about 60 pct of couples try it" by The Associated Press 3/21/12

Living together before marriage has been a long-growing trend. In the late 1960s, only about 10 percent of U.S. couples moved in together first, and they ended up with higher divorce rates.

Today, about 60 percent of couples live together before they first marry.

The study found those who were engaged and living together before the wedding were about as likely to have marriages that lasted 15 years as couples who hadn’t lived together.

But what about the couples who were living together but weren’t engaged? The new study found marriage was less likely to survive to the 10- and 15-year mark among couples who weren’t engaged when they lived together — findings similar to earlier research.

Commitment has made a difference. In interviews with some women who have been married 20 years or more after living with their spouse first, firm belief in a future together was a common theme.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "About Half of First Marriages Don't Last 20 Years" by Salynn Boyles, WebMD Health News 3/22/12

Between 1982 and 2010, the percentage of women under the age of 45 living with a partner outside of marriage nearly quadrupled, from 3% to 11%, according to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).

56% of first marriages among men and 52% among women now end in the first two decades.

By age 40, close to 9 out of 10 women and 8 out of 10 men will have married at least once.

More than 2 out of 3 Asian women (69%) were likely to still be married after 20 years, compared to around half of white women (54%) and just over a third (37%) of African-American women.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Nearly 40% of women today have never been married" by Sharon Jayson, USA TODAY 3/22/12

The data, out today from the National Center for Health Statistics, are based on 22,682 in-person interviews from 2006 to 2010 with men and women (not couples) ages 15 to 44. Among the 12,279 women studied, the percentage of never-marrieds rose to 38% from 33% in 1995.

The highest percentage of women who have never married was among blacks (55%), followed by U.S.-born Hispanics (49%), Asians (39%) and whites (34%).

The percentage of women who said they were in a first marriage declined to 36%, from 44% in 1982. Similar data on men were not collected until 2002.

The data reflect not only the "delay in getting married for the first time" but also "that more people are cohabitating," says Galena Rhoades of the University of Denver's Center for Marital and Family Studies.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read Out-of-Wedlock Births: Majority for Moms Under 30

Cohabitation Soars, Children Suffer: Study

Family instability continues to grow in the U.S. despite falling divorce rates for families with children. Researchers say an increase in cohabitation is part of the problem, adding that society’s “retreat from marriage” harms children and has particularly hurt poor and working-class communities.

For background, read No Marriage in Most U.S. Households: Census and also read Defeating Marriage & Destroying Family: Survey as well as Cohabitation is Too Much of a Commitment plus also read Marriage Essential for Children: Studies

UPDATE 8/20/11: Married couples four times more likely to be faithful to one another than cohabiting couples

-- From "More Unwed Parents Live Together, Report Finds" by Sabrina Tavernise, New York Times 8/16/11

The number of Americans who have children and live together without marrying has increased twelvefold since 1970, according to a report released Tuesday. The report states that children now are more likely to have unmarried parents than divorced ones.

The report cites data from the Census Bureau as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and includes work from 18 researchers who study family issues.

According to the National Survey of Family Growth, part of the Centers for Disease Control, 42 percent of children have lived with cohabiting parents by age 12, far more than the 24 percent whose parents have divorced.

Cohabiting parents . . . are more than twice as likely to break up as parents who are married.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Study: Are Cohabiting Parents Bad For Kids?" by Jennifer Ludden, NPR 8/16/11

The study is put out by the National Marriage Project and the Institute for American Values, groups whose missions include strengthening marriage and family life. . . .

Brad Wilcox, a report co-author and head of the National Marriage Project . . . says the children of the divorce revolution grew up to be understandably gun-shy about marriage. Many are putting it off, even after they have kids. But research shows such couples are twice as likely to split.

Forty-one percent of all births are now to unwed mothers, many of them living with — but not married to — the child's father.

In fact, another recent study finds that a quarter of American women with multiple children conceived them with more than one man. Psychologist John Gottman, a co-author of Tuesday's report, says that kind of instability can have a negative impact on kids in all kinds of ways.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Increased cohabitation rates mean more instability for children" by Kevin J. Jones, Catholic News Agency 8/17/11

More than 40 percent of U.S. children now spend time in a cohabiting household. They are much more likely to experience a parental breakup than children of married couples.

In the U.S., the breakup rate is 170 percent higher for children born to cohabiting couples up until age 12.

The report found that children in cohabiting households are at least three times more likely to be physically, sexually or emotionally abused, compared to children from intact marriages between their biological parents.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read Liberalism Causes Poverty in America: Study

Marriage Essential for Children: Studies

Proving what we've always known, studies show that children benefit when raised by a mother and father, joined in holy matrimony.

For background, read Marriage Trend: Confined within Church and also read Liberalism Causes Poverty in America: Study as well as 'Intact Family' Nearly Extinct among Blacks

UPDATE 3/4/13: White House Says Kids Don't Need Mom, 2 Dads OK

-- From "The argument for marriage: Unwed parents are six times more likely to split by the time their child is five" by Sarah Harris, UK Daily Mail 6/17/11

Unmarried parents are six times more likely to split by their child's fifth birthday than those who are married, say researchers.

The study from the [Cambridge-based] think-tank the Jubilee Centre will reignite concerns that Britain is fast becoming a nation of broken homes.

The trend is particularly worrying because other research shows that children brought up by couples, especially married couples, are likely to do better than youngsters in single parent homes.

Last year Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith warned that children from broken homes are nine times more likely to commit a crime than those from stable families.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Dad, mom in home is essential, Americans say" by Cheryl Wetzstein, The Washington Times 6/16/11

The majority of [American] children - nearly 70 percent, or 51.8 million - lived with two parents. However, about 27 percent, or 19.8 million, lived with only one parent, in most instances their mother. Another 4 percent, or 3 million, had neither a father nor a mother in their homes.

The Obama administration has announced the “Year of Strong Fathers, Strong Families” as part of its Fatherhood and Mentoring Initiative. . . . [details] are at the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse at www.fatherhood.gov.

In addition, the Department of Health and Human Services has released public service announcements about how fathers play a unique role in the lives of their children . . .

Separately, the Pew Research Center’s Social and Demographic Trends released a report . . . that found 69 percent of Americans believe having a father in the home is essential for “a child to grow up happily.” A slightly higher 74 percent said the same about mothers in the home.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read Children Suffer from Divorce, Not Bad Marriage

Virginity Lost as Teen = Divorce Later

A University of Iowa study has found that the younger a teenage girl becomes sexual active, the more likely she will divorce later in life.

There may be "a causal explanation –- that the early sexual experience led to the development of behaviors or beliefs that promote divorce."
-- Dr. Anthony Paik, associate professor of sociology, Univ. of Iowa

For background (to see the pattern), read the following previous articles:

Most Teens Want to be Virgins at Marriage

Abstinence Education Effective, Fed Study Shows

Planned Parenthood's Sexual Assault on Kids

Defeating Marriage & Destroying Family: Survey



-- From "UI Study Examines Link Between Teen Sex and Divorce Rate" by Jillian Petrus, Reporter, KCRG-TV9 6/14/11

He found 31 percent of women who had sex for the first time as teens divorced within five years after marrying. 47 percent divorced within 10 years.

The divorce rate for women who delayed sex until adulthood decreased dramatically.

Women who had sex before the age of 16 were more likely to get divorced. Unwanted sex at a young age doubled the chance of a failed marriage, and only a small percent of women who had sex before 18 said it's something they really wanted to do.

Dr. Anthony Paik said the survey did control for other variables that might lead to a divorce. He said he recognizes there are a lot of other factors that can cause divorce, but he believes teenage sex is definitely one thing to consider.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Women who lost their virginity as teenagers are 'more likely to divorce', says new study" by UK Daily Mail Reporter 6/15/11

Among women who delayed sex until adulthood, 15 per cent divorced at five years, compared to 27 per cent at 10 years.

The findings were published in the April issue of the Journal of Marriage and Family.

Thirty-one percent of women who lost their virginity during adolescence had premarital sex with multiple partners, compared to 24 per cent of those who waited.

Twenty-nine percent experienced premarital conceptions, versus 15 percent who waited.

One in four women who had sex as a teen had a baby before they were married, compared to only one in ten who waited until adulthood.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "UI study: Teen sex in women affects divorce rate" posted at Iowa City Press Citizen 6/14/11

In a statistical analysis, [Dr. Paik] found more evidence . . . suggesting that the sexual experiences as a teen affected the marriage.

"It's a timely topic, given the current debate over the sexualization of girls," Paik said. "This study tries to provide some answers about adolescent sexuality and the risk of marital dissolution, and the results show that both the context and early onset of first intercourse are associated with divorce."

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Children Suffer from Divorce, Not Bad Marriage

New study shows children of divorce fall behind peers in school and suffer psychologically only AFTER the split, rather than during parents' period of marital conflict.

For background, read Divorce Still Damaging to Children Despite Being More Acceptable

-- From "Children of Divorce Struggle More With Math and Social Skills" by Bonnie Rochman, Healthland 6/2/11

Children of divorce have poorer math and interpersonal social skills than their peers, and they battle anxiety, loneliness, low self-esteem and sadness, according to new research published Thursday in the American Sociological Review.

They have trouble forming and maintaining friendships, expressing their feelings in positive ways, showing sensitivity to others' feelings, comforting other children and getting along with people who are different, according to Hyun Sik Kim, the study's author and a Ph.D. candidate in sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Although Kim anticipated finding evidence that children struggle in the “pre-divorce period,” before parents initiate divorce proceedings, the study found otherwise. Rather than reacting to the perceived conflict that leads to moms and dads filing for divorce, children start struggling once the divorce is underway.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Children of Divorce Suffer Academic, Social and Emotional Setbacks" by Drucilla Dyess, HealthNews 6/2/11

According to the study, children of divorce have a greater likelihood of grappling with anxiety, loneliness, low self-esteem, and sadness. What’s worse, the intensification of the negative emotions they endure begins with the dissolution of their parents’ marriage, and these “internalizing problem behaviors” don’t go away.

Dr Kim stated, “This study reveals that these negative impacts do not worsen in the post-divorce stage, although there is no sign that children of divorce catch up with their counterparts either."

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Divorce can hurt kids' math scores, friendships" by Alan Mozes, Shreveport Times 6/5/11

Children may be stressed by an ongoing parental blame game or child custody conflicts. This stress could be compounded by the loss of stability when a child is shuttled between separate households or has to move to another region altogether, thus losing contact with his or her original network of friends.

In fact, Kim observed a dramatic change in family locations, suggesting that children of divorce were more likely to change schools.

Parents' divorce-related depression might also play a role, as could economic strains when family income suddenly drops.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Homosexualists Celebrate Victory over Christian America

A conservative Christian group admitted this week that it is losing the battle on gay marriage, particularly among young people.

“We’ve got to look at what God is doing in all of this.”

-- From "Christian groups admits defeat in battle against gay marriage" by GoPride.com News Staff (gay Chicago publication) 5/24/11

"We've probably lost that," Focus on the Family Chief Executive and President Jim Daly said about evangelicals' battle against gay marriage. "I don't want to be extremist here, but I think we need to start calculating where we are in the culture."

In an interview with World Magazine, an evangelical Christian magazine, Daly noted that people in their 20s and 30s were especially likely to support marriage equality.

A summation is supported by a Gallup poll released last week that showed 70 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds support gay marriage. Overall 53 percent of Americans polled said it's time for gay marriage to be legal, marking the first time for such support since Gallup began tracking the issue in 2004.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Evangelical: We're Losing Fight Against Gay Marriage" by Alison Matheson, Christian Post Correspondent 5/24/11

Daly suggested that the church use the emerging trend as an opportunity to gets its own house in order.

“Have we done such a poor job with marriage, is He so upset with our mishandling of it in the Christian community, along with our lust of the flesh as a nation, that he is handing us over to this polygamy and same-sex situation in order to perhaps, drive the Christian community, the remnant, into saying ‘OK, there’s no no-fault divorce in our church?'”

“We’ve got to look at our own house, make sure our marriages are healthy, that we’re being a good witness to the world,” said Daly.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Young Conservative: Don't Count Us Out of Marriage Debate" by Stephanie Samuel, Christian Post Reporter 5/24/11

Young Republican National Federation Chairwoman Lisa Stickan says membership in their group is growing nationwide ahead of the 2012 election and states that within the YRNF, there is a "groundswell" of support for traditional marriage.

Stickan maintained that she and other young supporters of traditional marriage have found they can respect gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people and their rights while holding on to their position on same-sex marriage.

[Stickan said,] "To write off a whole demographic as being liberal or socially liberal, I think, is a great disservice to that demographic."

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Why the Same-Sex Marriage Experiment Will Not Work" by Jim Daly, Focus on the Family Chief Executive and President 5/24/11

Throughout its grand history, America has regularly been willing to reevaluate cultural norms, especially when the change that challenges the status quo promises to right a wrong or advance and improve the social welfare. . . .

In the late 1960s, no-fault divorce promised to simplify, streamline and decrease the contentiousness surrounding marital breakup. Instead, it only encouraged struggling spouses to throw in the towel. Fathers abandoned their families in droves. Poverty levels skyrocketed. Prison populations increased at dramatic levels, a consequence of kids now growing up without a father in the home.

A few years later, in 1973, the Supreme Court legalized abortion in all 50 states. Supporters heralded a new era of responsibility, where every child would be a wanted child. Tragically, over 48 million babies have now been aborted and the beauty of life has been cheapened as a result, while child abuse has skyrocketed.

The expansion of welfare promised to alleviate human suffering. While in some ways noble in intent, it disincentivized work, undermined the family unit and created a perpetual cycle of dependency and poverty. Fathers were no longer needed to be an integral part of the family.

Cohabitation is yet another experiment which promised to liberate couples from the “burden” of marriage. The number of couples living together outside of marriage has increased ten-fold between 1960 and 2000. Over 12 million unmarried partners now live together in the United States. The result? Cohabitation not only decreases a person’s appetite for marriage, it also increases the risk of divorce, should the couple ever tie the knot.

In each example of social reengineering I’ve noted, progressives promised good things. Sadly, the exact opposite has happened. However well-meaning the motivation, reengineering what God has designed is not only unwise, but radical and dangerous, too.

To read the entire opinion column above, CLICK HERE.

Fewer Get Married, but Stay Married: Census

A new U.S. Census report shows that fewer Americans are getting married, or choosing to do so later in life, and so the divorce rate is on the decline.



Read about Defeating Marriage & Destroying Family: Survey and also read White House Torpedoed Marriage from Start

UPDATE 8/25/11: More marry/divorce in south, fewer in northeast, says census

-- From "U.S. marriages last longer, fewer divorces" posted at UPI 5/19/11

Although 30 percent of U.S. adults have never been married, those who are married are staying together longer than couples used to, census officials say.

The U.S. Census report -- using 2008 data of men and women age 15 and older in about 39,000 households -- indicates 55 percent of currently married couples had been married for at least 15 years, while 35 percent had reached their 25th anniversary and 6 percent passed their 50th wedding anniversary.

Seventy-two percent of both spouses in recorded marriages were in their first marriage; 6 percent of marriages included a wife in her second marriage and husband in his first; 8 percent a husband in his second marriage and wife in her first; and 8 percent had both spouses in their second marriage, the report says. One percent of the married couple consisted of a husband and wife who had both been married three or more times.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Number of long-lasting marriages in U.S. has risen, Census Bureau reports" by Carol Morello, Washington Post 5/18/11

Americans may be postponing marriage, and fewer are wedding at all. But what about the people who do get married? They’re staying together longer than they have in years.

One reason for the increase, said demographers and sociologists who study families, is that people are marrying later in life, after they have completed their education. Not only are they more mature, but they also are more financially secure.

Nearly a third of adults never marry at all. That number has marched upward in every age group over the past decade and a half.

In 1986, one in four people ages 25 to 29 had never married. In 2009, that was true of almost half in that age group. The number of adults 50 to 54 who have never married also jumped during the same time period to one in 10.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "American Couples Get ‘More Selective’" by Frank Bass, Bloomberg 5/18/11

The New Milford, Connecticut-based group’s 4,000 wedding planners are seeing fewer brides in their late 20s, Davey said in a telephone interview. Couples are waiting longer to get married because they’re living together first, she said, and often must save money to pay for their wedding.

About 27 percent of women from 30 to 34 reported never having been married in 2009, almost doubling the 14 percent who hadn’t been married in 1986. The percentage of women older than 55 who had never married rose to 5.8 from 4.8 percent in that period.

The median age at first marriage in 1950 was 23 for men and 20 for women. It’s now 28 for men and 26 for women, the Census Bureau said.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Americans Still Choosing Marriage, Census Figures Show" by Alison Matheson, Christian Post Correspondent 5/20/11

And although the figures show that people are marrying later in life, more marriages are lasting, with 75 percent of those marrying since 1990 making it to their 10th anniversary – around three percent higher than in the early 1980s when the nation saw its highest divorce rates.

These percentages are around one to two percentage points higher than they were in 1996, reflecting the leveling of divorce rates and increases in life expectancy.

While 18.8 percent of 25- to 29-year-olds who had been married were divorced in 1996, the percentage dropped to 13.8 percent in 2009. For 30- to 34-year-old women, the rate of divorce dropped from 25.6 to 21.3 percent. The divorce rate among older women (50 years and over), however, increased. Overall, 21 percent of men and 22 percent of women had ever been divorced.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Liberalism Causes Poverty in America: Study

A new study showing that 1 in 4 American children are raised by a single parent, coupled with the well-known fact of higher poverty rates resulting from single parenthood, demonstrates that the liberals' destruction of the family unit through sexualization of children, no-fault divorce, same-sex 'marriage' and the it-takes-a-Village mentality is the root cause of poverty in America.

UPDATE 12/26/12: Violence & Poverty due to Absence of Intact Family

UPDATE 8/17/11: Child poverty rate climbs to 20%

UPDATE 5/31/11: Marriage culture key to economy, study says

-- From "25 Percent Of U.S. Children Raised By Single Parent" posted at KWTX-TV News 10 (Waco, TX) 4/27/11

One in four children in the U.S. is being raised by a single parent, which is higher than in other developed countries, a new report says.

Experts list a variety of factors to explain the high U.S. figure, including a cultural shift toward greater acceptance of single parent child rearing.

The report also found that single parents in the United States were more likely on average to be employed, but noted they also had higher rates of poverty.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "1 in 4 children in US raised by a single parent" by Christine Armario, Associated Press 4/27/11

The report noted that public spending on child welfare and education is higher in the U.S. than in other countries—$160,000 per child compared to $149,000. . . .

Childhood poverty rates in the U.S. are also expected to climb—23.5 percent from 20 percent. . . .

The single parent phenomenon has been occurring over recent decades. The study noted the U.S. and England have higher teenage birthrates than other countries, partially contributing to the higher single-parent numbers, though the proportion of children born outside marriage was not significantly higher than the other countries.

Christina Gibson Davis, a professor at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Police, said changing gender roles, the rise of contraception, high incarceration rates in some communities and an acceptance of having children out of wedlock have all contributed to the growing number.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

UPDATE 4/16/15: Decades of Income Inequality is due to Demise of Married-parent Families with Children, Study Shows

UPDATE 5/30/14: President Obama Replaces Fathers with Government Mentors

Click headlines below to read related articles:

Cohabitation Soars, Children Suffer: Study

Unwed Mothers in Poorer Health: Study

Marriage Essential for Children: Studies

Pro-family = Anti-poverty: Colorado State Rep.

Defeating Marriage & Destroying Family: Survey

White House Orders Redefinition of Family

Divorce Still Damaging to Children Despite Being More Acceptable

Marriage Obsolete: American Poll

Marriage Trend: Confined within Church

'Intact Family' Nearly Extinct among Blacks

Government Destines Black Children to Poverty

Fewer Get Married, but Stay Married: Census

UPDATE 6/14/13: Former Congressman Allen West asserts liberal government responsible for African-American broken families and unemployment

AGENDA: Grinding America Down (full movie on YouTube):


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'Good Sex' Exposed to Kids on Church Billboards

Midwestern churches in conservative cities are challenging both tradition and Hollywood by emphasizing God's design for sex within marriage, but many Christians prefer the churches keep their sex private.



-- From "Church Tries to Ignite Married Couple's Sex Lives" by Dean Schabner, ABC News 2/12/11

. . . some people in Joplin, Mo., say the billboards that Ignite Church has put up in the town shouldn't be viewed by children . . .

But Ignite Church's Lead Pastor Heath Mooneyham said the message . . . is all about love, and God's purpose for it -- which includes sex.

"We're doing a series about sex, and God's intended purpose for it," Mooneyham. "We're hitting things like adultery and pornography."

Mooneyham indicated that in a poll on the church's website, 86 percent of the respondents said they were not having enough sex in their marriage.

"This is really one of the major issues that's ripping marriages apart. They are at a higher risk of adultery, looking at pornography -- that leads to divorce," Mooneyham said.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Indiana Church Behind Provocative Sex Billboard" posted at FoxNews.com 3/10/11

When people go to the [advertised Internet] site, the link brings users to The Blended Church -- a non-denominational and non-traditional church that preaches, among other things, about the positive aspects of a healthy sex life within marriage, Indiana's Fox59 reports.

However, many motorists are offended by the advertisement, saying it's bad exposure for kids.

But Pastor Dehner Maurer, whose church is responsible for the signs, disagrees.

"Hollywood is speaking it. The Super Bowl is talking about it, so the church should be talking about it," he says.

"We're just trying to be real and relevant and speak about issues that we face and that's a part of life."

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Controversial billboards around Indianapolis have many parents worried as church targets sex as church addresses topic that is 'real and relevant'" by Heather MacWilliams, Fox59 WSBT-TV Indianapolis 3/10/11

"My kids are pointing. I don't want to see that when I'm driving. I just don't. That's a little bit too much," Jennell Allison.

Many motorists share this mother's opinion. "I think that's a little explicit to be on a billboard out here for children to see. It's a little much," says Sherry Knokes.

"In first grade they're talking about it and its too young for the children. I understand that. The problem is if we as parents don't talk to them about sex the kid down the road will," Maurer continues.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.