Marriage Rate Trend Analysis

The cultural tradition of marriage has long been considered one of the most enduring and meaningful moments in the history of an American’s life. From an anthropological standpoint, marriage in America is a rite of passage that two people partake in once they are economically, socially, and psychologically stable enough to make a long term commitment. This commitment historically has marked the transition from adolescence, to adulthood. One of marriages primary goals is to integrate sex, parenthood, economic cooperation, and emotional intimacy in a permanent union. Marriage has long been held in high esteem because it represents love, which is the very essence of the human condition. The institution of marriage is recognized by the state as a legal union in which the couples can economically profit, and the church recognizes marriage as a union which will bring the couple closer to God. Although marriage has long been one of the most important structures set forth by our society, the amount of people getting married is declining at an unprecedented rate. In 1970, there were approximately 76.5 marriages for every 1000 unmarried women under the age of 15. By the year 2000, the marriage rate dramatically decreased to only 44.5, and 8 years later, the marriage rate hit an all- time low at 34.8 marriages for every 1000 unmarried women. (Lee). The future of marriage looks to either become completely obsolete, or of utmost meaning, due to the decline of the marriage rate over the course of the last 30 years, due to the trends of the increased prevalence of cohabitation, individualism, and the fear of marriage, which could lead to negative impacts on children of single family homes, and on society as a whole. The institution of marriage has forgone a constant evolution throughout history, and different parts of the world. Although we now associate marriage with love, many historians believe that marrying for love is a recent Western innovation ( Coontz). In the stone age, individuals began to group themselves together in order to establish structure for child rearing, and in order to maximize the output of tasks that needed to be done on a daily bases. The first marriage ceremonies are believed to be held over 4000 years ago in Ancient Mesopotamia. (The Week). During the early history of marriage, from the period of antiquity, to the renaissance, politics and money were the predominant reasons for marriage. (Psychology Today). The main role of marriage amongst the elite was to preserve power with kings and other members of the elite by offering up their daughters for marriage in order to create alliances. However, the main role of marriage amongst the average citizens, and the poor was procreation, and the continuation of the family blood line. (The Week). During this time, love in marriage was seen as destructive, and undesirable. The Greek’s and French both viewed lovesickness as insanity (Coontz). During the early stages of the history of marriage, it was acceptable, and even expected for a man to take a concubine, if his wife did not bare him any children. In the Bible, Solomon is cited as taking upwards of 300 concubines. In ancient Rome, marriage was a civil structure which was governed by the state. When Rome collapsed in the 5th century, the Catholic Church took over and changed the definition of marriage at the time. Instead of marriage being a social structure, it was now viewed as a union between a man and a woman, which will bring them closer to God. As the church expanded and tightened its grasp upon the reigns of societies collective self-conscious in the middle Ages, it also expanded and tightened its grasp upon the fundamentals of marriage. In 1215, the church greatly heightened the importance of marriage, by declaring it one of the church's seven sacraments, alongside rites like baptism and penance. During the early stages of marriage, the customs and traditions were far different from what they are today. Marriages were used as a political pawn, and in order to bring couples together, to continue the blood line of families, until the Catholic Church illuminated the meaning of marriage. (The Week.) From the 1600’s, to the Victorian Era, marriage evolved more than it had in the previous millennia. In the 1600’s marriage become more of a family affair. A marriage between two families meant shared wealth. At this time however, people would still go to family for love and emotional support. In the late 1600’s, married love was considered inappropriate (Psychology Today). However, during this time, the world was experiencing a new wave of revolutionary thought, which is historically referred to the Enlightenment. During this period, philosophers began to express their belief that the most important part of life is happiness. Because of their philosophies, a good amount of people began to marry for love rather than wealth or status. This was perpetuated by the Industrial Revolution and the growth of the middle class in the 19th century, which allowed men to select a spouse and pay for a wedding, regardless of parental approval. As people took more control of their love lives, they began to demand the right to end unhappy unions. (The Week). Over the course of the last 100 years, the United States has witnessed an unparalleled social revolution. This revolution paid witness to a completely new idea of marriage. During the last century, society left behind its old ways of marrying for family and economic reasons, and has instead embraced love as the main reason for marriage. In the 1920’s the United States underwent a sexual revolution in which dating became widely popular, and sex was embraced by popular culture. During the 1950’s marriage became almost compulsory, with 4/5 people claiming that those who are single are “immoral”. During the 1970’s women finally began to gain equal rights within the marriage, which changed the structure of marriage. Today, Marriage is considered the ultimate expression of love. Because marriage is associated with admitting ones love with their partner, more gays and lesbians are seeking the right to marry, than ever before. People today are more cautious and slow to marry, because they are looking “the one”, which has lead to more couples cohabitating than ever before. Although marriage rates are declining, and divorce rates are higher than ever before, the idea of a perfect wedding is still universal and desired (Psychology Today). One of the major factors that have led to the staggering decline in the amount of people get married is the increased prevalence of cohabitation amongst couples. Cohabitation was once conceived to be immoral, unjust, and “sinful”. Throughout the last few generations, the taboo and the possibility of being socially ostracized have effectively been removed from the fabric of our society (Jayson). Although the amount of people who are married has fallen from 72 percent in 1960, to 52 percent in 2011, the amount of people cohabiting has increased an unprecedented 350 percent (Halett). According to Larry L. Bumpass, a professor of demography and ecology at the University of Wisconsin, and the author of the article, “The Declining Significance of Marriage: Changing Family Life in the United States, “ as the normative link between sex and marriage eroded, there was progressively less reason for unmarried couples to not share households. What this means is that the values of our society has changed. Premarital sex was once considered to be greatly inappropriate, and has now become widely accepted in nearly all phases of our culture. According to a 2002 survey of 40,000 people between the ages of 15 and 44, a staggering 95% reported having had pre-marital sex .As time progressed, and sex became acceptable before marriage, many people lost the need to wed. They could now live together, because it was socially acceptable. Millions of Americans now decide to just cohabit, because marriage is no longer needed to be accepted in most circles of society. Over the last few decades, the United States has welcomed in a new age of “expressive individualism” (Cherlin, 47). Americans have, since the founding of our country, upheld liberty, individual choice, and personal freedom as the highest ideals. These values had been balanced out by the equally strong desire for the communal, collective well-being of society and of the country. Over the last 30 years, the United States has seen in an influx of education, and has seen women gain more rights during the age of women’s liberation. According to Andrew J. Cherlin, author of the article, “American Marriage in Transition”, “each person has a unique core of feeling and intuition that should unfold or be expressed if individuality is to be realized”. Today’s society is centered on self-improvement, and self-fulfillment. According to Allen Holt, a minister at the Harvest Church of Christ, the marriage rate is declining today because people are more self-centered, career oriented, and more focused on independently establishing themselves in the world. Marriage in the 1950’s was needed to be accepted socially, but it has since strayed from that. The reason that is acceptable to not be married today is because the very definition or reason behind marriage has largely changed. Marriage is now less of an institution that one partakes in as a requirement, but is now more a way for an individual to achieve happiness. During the 1970, the Women’s Right’s Movement greatly advanced a women’s role in society. It was during this time that women began to become more educated, and work higher paying jobs. During the 50’s, the majority of women were dependent on a husband to provide for them, so they saw marriage as a form of economic security. Over the last 30 years, women have advanced, and are no longer dependent on a husband to be economically secure. This change in society changed the very fabric of marriage in our culture. Instead of marrying for economic security, woman is now more likely to marry for love, and for self-fulfillment purposes. The Women’s Rights Movement helped them become more individualistic, which therefore skewed gender roles. Because people are now more educated, and women are considered equal upon men, the average age of marriage has risen to 27 years old (Lee). Due to more people expressing the need for individual fulfillment and success, people are more likely to wait to get married until they are economically stable, or not at all, which has helped substantially decrease the marriage rate.
Over the last few generations, not only has the marriage rate declined, but the divorce rate has also skyrocketed. The rise in the divorce rate could prove unattractive to many young couples in serious relationships. In the early 1970’s, Governor of California, Ronald Reagan signed the "no fault" divorce bill into law. As a result, between 1960 and 1980, the divorce rate in America more than doubled. Over the last 30 years, the divorce rate has continued to increase, therefore, luring some couples away from marriage. Dr. Sharon Sassler, a sociologist at Cornell University recently conducted a survey in order to obtain a better understanding of cohabitation. Sassler interviewed 122 people about their living circumstances and relationship. Although Sassler’s questions were focused solely on cohabitation, 2 out of 3 of the people surveyed brought up their fears of divorce. This study accentuates the fear that many Americans now have of divorce, since it is now so commonplace. Individuals in the United States are afraid to commit, and to end up divorcing, so they avoid it all together by just living with each other, or nota allowing themselves to commit to a long term relationship at all ( Bindley). As the marriage rate continues to decline, it leaves more and more children without a traditional family unit. Today more children are born into a single family home than ever before, with 40 percent of children being born to a single mother (The Future of Marriage). Living in a single parent home, can affect a child’s emotional and social development. When parents are left with all of the burden of raising a child, they are not able to give a child the quality of parenting that could have been provided by a couple. Single parents tend to have lower expectations, and are not as demanding of their children. It is amongst popular belief that there is a direct correlation between poor academic achievement, emotional problems, low self-esteem, and a plethora of other issues with children and the inadequate quality of parenting provided by a single parent ( Bumpass).According to the Index of Leading Cultural Indicators, children that are brought up in an untraditional family setting, with only one parent, account for 63 percent of all youth suicides, 70 percent of all teenage pregnancies, 71 percent of all adolescent chemical abuse, 80 percent of all prison inmates, and 90 percent of all homeless and runaway children. Studies show that children brought up by single mothers are “ five times more likely to commit suicide, nine times more likely to drop out of high school, 10 times more likely to abuse drugs, 14 times more likely to commit rape, 20 times more likely to end up in prison, and 32 times more likely to end up in prison ( Future of Children). If the marriage rate continues to decline, it would leave more and more children without two parents, which could negatively affect the development of children. However, the development of children is not all that is affected. Because of the staggering consequences of living in a single parent home, it could have a severe negative impact on the economy, and the society of America. As the prevalence of single parent households continue to grow due to the decline of marriage, so does the possibility of all of the aforementioned statistics. As the marriage rate continues to decline, it could prove detrimental to society as a whole.
If the trend of the declining marriage does not slow down soon, marriage could be rendered completely obsolete. Studies now show that 40 percent of Americans believe that marriage is not important in today’s society. ( Cnn). Over the last 30 years, the amount of people that are married has rapidly declined, and has no signs of slowing down anytime in the near future. Marriage is no longer necessary in our society, and is being replaced by other structures such as cohabitation. At this rate, cohabitation will soon become the new norm, and marriage will become a thing of the past.
Although there is a great possibility that marriage could become obsolete, it could also further evolve its meaning. According to Allen Holt , a minister at Harvest Church of Christ, as long as there are Christians and followers of the Bible , there will always be a large number of people who marry because they believe that it brings them closer to god. Holt also points out that although it is contrary to his beliefs, the amount of gays and lesbians that are now marrying will ensure that marriage would remain relevant. In today’s society, people wait longer to marry, until they are financially stable, and are sure that they found they found their “soul mate”. According to Holt, this could strengthen the meaning of marriage. People with less education are more likely to cohabitate, and less likely to marry. Holt theorizes that marriage will not go away, but the meaning of marriage will only intensify so that it represents the, “pinnacle of love, economic stability, and a relationship with God”. The declining marriage rate could be spun as a positive for marriage. Although the amount of people getting married has decreased, and will continue to decrease, marriage will mean much more to future generations than it does today.
Marriage has long been one of the most important structures of American society. Over the last 30 years, the amount of people getting married has significantly declined. This decline is due to the increased amount of cohabitation, and individualism, coupled with the growing trend of divorce. Cohabitation is more acceptable in society today, so couples are more likely to live together, and not get married. In our society today people are more educated and personal goal oriented, so they strive for personal success, before marriage, if they decided that they want to marry at all. The increasing trend of divorce has also helped lower the marriage rate because many Americans are now scared to marry because they fear that divorce is certain. As the trend of the declination of the marriage rate continues, so does the expansion of the amount of single parent homes. Children who are raised by single parents are much more at risk for a plethora of unacceptable and undesirable actions. If the trend of people not getting married continues, it could prove detrimental to more and more children, and the rest of society. The future of marriage in America has two possibilities. Marriage will either become completely obsolete a thing of the past because cohabitation will become the most efficient system or the amount of marriages will continue to decline, but, the meaning behind those marriages will continue to rise.