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Why Marriage?Marriage is a key component
to family stability. We know families are hurting, our youth are angry,
and we need
to raise the important questions and address the pertinent issues now!
Voices For The Families supports the sacred
institution of marriage. Current societal challenges and strains to
the fundamental covenant of marriage are evident in the following facts:
* During the last 30 years, the overall number of
families headed by married couples has sharply declined.
*Throughout the United States, the increase in
the divorce rate is higher than rate of marriages.
*Within six months of marriage, half of all
newlyweds begin to doubt whether or not their marriage will last;
Ultimately, 60% of American families are in danger. (1)
*During 1997, in the United States, there were
2,384,000 marriages as compared to 2,244,000 marriages in 1998,
a decline of nearly 1,400,000. At the same time, births in the U.S.
increased from 3,822,000 to 3,946,000. During
this time, there was a high rate of divorce of existing marriages. (2)
Many of the social and economic problems and ills
of American society are directly related to the break-up of
marriages and the corresponding breakdown of families. According to recent
studies, the increasing rate of
suicides among teenagers is connected to marriage failure and family
disintegration.
The Council on Families in America, in a report
entitled, "Marriage in America" concluded, "Our society’s current
topic might be termed managing family decline, or ameliorating some of the
worst consequences of a divorce
culture..........The new discussion we propose might be termed recreating
a marriage culture. (3)
NOTES: (1) Joong Hyun Pak and Andrew
Wilson, True Family Values, HSA-UWC Publishing, 1996 New York City,
p. 2.
(2) National Vital Statistics Reports, Volume 47, Number 21,
July 6, 1999, U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, National
Center for Health Statistics, Hyattsville,
M.D., p. 1.
(3) Marriage in America: A Report to the Nation
is a report put forth by the Council on Families in America, a project of
the Institute for
American Values. Copies of this report can be printed from http://center.americanvalues.org.
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