Marriage is declining, according to the annual “State of our Unions” report. The study from Rutgers' National Marriage Project also shows cohabitation is sharply on the rise.
David Popenoe, the report's author, said the long-term trends do not look very optimistic. Half of unmarried women ages 25 to 39 are living with or have lived with a partner without being married. The average first marriage has a 43 to 50 percent failure rate. He told Family News in Focus it spells danger for society.
“You’re going to see it in children being kind of aimless, shiftless, having relationship problems,” he said. “They grow up into adults who don’t marry, cohabit, have instability of relationships – basically, it’s a tragedy.”
Carrie Gordon Earll, senior director of issue analysis at Focus on the Family Action, said the study reflects the self-centeredness of today’s culture.
“We look at marriage as a way to make ourselves happy," she said, "rather than realizing this is a public good.”
