Is marriage obsolete? 4 in 10 say YUP!

[Punisher84]

Four in 10 say marriage is becoming obsolete - Yahoo! News

WASHINGTON – Is marriage becoming obsolete?

As families gather for Thanksgiving this year, nearly one in three American children is living with a parent who is divorced, separated or never-married. More people are accepting the view that wedding bells aren't needed to have a family.

A study by the Pew Research Center, in association with Time magazine, highlights rapidly changing notions of the American family. And the Census Bureau, too, is planning to incorporate broader definitions of family when measuring poverty, a shift caused partly by recent jumps in unmarried couples living together.

About 29 percent of children under 18 now live with a parent or parents who are unwed or no longer married, a fivefold increase from 1960, according to the Pew report being released Thursday. Broken down further, about 15 percent have parents who are divorced or separated and 14 percent who were never married. Within those two groups, a sizable chunk — 6 percent — have parents who are live-in couples who opted to raise kids together without getting married.

Indeed, about 39 percent of Americans said marriage was becoming obsolete. And that sentiment follows U.S. census data released in September that showed marriages hit an all-time low of 52 percent for adults 18 and over.

In 1978, just 28 percent believed marriage was becoming obsolete.

When asked what constitutes a family, the vast majority of Americans agree that a married couple, with or without children, fits that description. But four of five surveyed pointed also to an unmarried, opposite-sex couple with children or a single parent. Three of 5 people said a same-sex couple with children was a family.

"Marriage is still very important in this country, but it doesn't dominate family life like it used to," said Andrew Cherlin, a professor of sociology and public policy at Johns Hopkins University. "Now there are several ways to have a successful family life, and more people accept them."

The broadening views of family are expected to have an impact at Thanksgiving. About nine in 10 Americans say they will share a Thanksgiving meal next week with family, sitting at a table with 12 people on average. About one-fourth of respondents said there will be 20 or more family members.

"More Americans are living in these new families, so it seems safe to assume that there will be more of them around the Thanksgiving dinner table," said Paul Taylor, executive vice president of the Pew Research Center.

The changing views of family are being driven largely by young adults 18-29, who are more likely than older generations to have an unmarried or divorced parent or have friends who do. Young adults also tend to have more liberal attitudes when it comes to spousal roles and living together before marriage, the survey found.

But economic factors, too, are playing a role. The Census Bureau recently reported that opposite-sex unmarried couples living together jumped 13 percent this year to 7.5 million. It was a sharp one-year increase that analysts largely attributed to people unwilling to make long-term marriage commitments in the face of persistent unemployment.

Beginning next year, the Census Bureau will publish new, supplemental poverty figures that move away from the traditional concept of family as a husband and wife with two children. It will broaden the definition to include unmarried couples, such as same-sex partners, as well as foster children who are not related by blood or adoption.

Officials say such a move will reduce the number of families and children who are considered poor based on the new supplemental measure, which will be used as a guide for federal and state agencies to set anti-poverty policies. That's because two unmarried partners who live together with children and work are currently not counted by census as a single "family" with higher pooled incomes, but are officially defined as two separate units — one being a single parent and child, the other a single person — who aren't sharing household resources.

"People are rethinking what family means," Cherlin said. "Given the growth, I think we need to accept cohabitation relationships as a basis for some of the fringe benefits offered to families, such as health insurance."

Still, the study indicates that marriage isn't going to disappear anytime soon. Despite a growing view that marriage may not be necessary, 67 percent of Americans were upbeat about the future of marriage and family. That's higher than their optimism for the nation's educational system (50 percent), economy (46 percent) or its morals and ethics (41 percent).

And about half of all currently unmarried adults, 46 percent, say they want to get married. Among those unmarried who are living with a partner, the share rises to 64 percent.

Other findings:

_About 34 percent of Americans called the growing variety of family living arrangements good for society, while 32 percent said it didn't make a difference and 29 percent said it was troubling.

_About 44 percent of people say they have lived with a partner without being married; for 30-to-49-year-olds, that share rose to 57 percent. In most cases, those couples said they considered cohabitation as a step toward marriage.

_About 62 percent say that the best marriage is one where the husband and wife both work and both take care of the household and children. That's up from 48 percent who held that view in 1977.

The Pew study was based on interviews with 2,691 adults by cell phone or landline from Oct. 1-21. The survey has a total margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points, larger for subgroups. Pew also analyzed 2008 census data, and used surveys conducted by Time magazine to identify trends from earlier decades.

[Smith]

It is indeed when there is no siritual context. Marriage has always been viewed as a union between a man and a woman held together for and by a higher power. This is true no matter what religious context you view it from. Recent efforts to rewrite mankinds history so that abnormal conditions can be normalized is where much of this is coming from.

[Punisher84]

Well. There goes another thread down the religion tubes.

[Guest 85rx-7gsl-se]

I wouldnt say it is obsolete even w/o the religious argument. Its about making a commitment and by having serious financial consequences attached (in many cases) to the separation it at least makes people think twice and just quitting.

[Kegger]

This is how I look at it, avoid marriage, avoid the potential divorce.

Not really, though.

[Guest 85rx-7gsl-se]

Putting my religious views aside I think for a couple that never intends to have kids that marriage is less essential. However with kids I think having that extra layer of bond is helpful.

[Punisher84]

Putting my religious views aside I think for a couple that never intends to have kids that marriage is less essential. However with kids I think having that extra layer of bond is helpful.

That's saying though that marriage is more of a bond than living together and just being committed to each other. Marriage is simply a legal contract.

[Guest 85rx-7gsl-se]

Well the legal contract creates a financial tie (maybe the better term than bond) that makes it tougher just to walk away.

[Handsome Rob]

Here's a question;

Which relationship shows the higher level of commitment?

1) A married couple with no kids, living in rented acommodation,

2) An unmarried couple with 2 kids, living in a property that is bought/mortgaged

[Punisher84]

Here's a question;

Which relationship shows the higher level of commitment?

1) A married couple with no kids, living in rented acommodation,

2) An unmarried couple with 2 kids, living in a property that is bought/mortgaged

I'll go with 2!

[Guest 85rx-7gsl-se]

I guess it would depend on how the property was titled/financed? Tennessee doesnt recognize common law marriage.

[Guest 85rx-7gsl-se]

Also note there are always exceptions on both sides. But on average which one will have a greater financial commitment between the parties? A married couple or a couple that just lives together?

[gnmwilliams]

Mawidge.........mawidge is wot bwings us togedderrrrrrr.....

[Smith]

Well. There goes another thread down the religion tubes.

Well, discussing marriage outside of religious context doesn't exsist.

That's my point, outside of a religious context what's the diffference?

[Armed Aviator]

All I can say . . . Marriage . . . The leading cause of Divorce!

[Guest 85rx-7gsl-se]

Well, discussing marriage outside of religious context doesn't exsist.

That's my point, outside of a religious context what's the diffference?

The financial consequence of marital property division and alimony?

[Guest 85rx-7gsl-se]

All I can say . . . Marriage . . . The leading cause of Divorce!

And life is the leading cause of death lol

[Guest trigem]

If it's based on finances or lust it will crash with

Hard times, we can see the results with all the fatherless

Families, I have seen first hand what happens

To children when spouse or lover walks away from

them, a man that walks away from his family for

Someone else is ...... Can't say it !

[Links2k]

All I know is that I have worked in a prison in my youth, fought in a war and neither one of those events were tougher than maintaining a relationship and raising kids for over twenty years.

[greenego]

Federal Government is against marriage. Just look at the tax code.

[BryanP]

Putting my religious views aside I think for a couple that never intends to have kids that marriage is less essential. However with kids I think having that extra layer of bond is helpful.

That sounds close to arguments I was told by hyper-religious "friends" who said that my marriage to my first wife was somehow not a "real" marriage because we had no children and were not planning to have them.

[peejman]

Mawidge.........mawidge is wot bwings us togedderrrrrrr.....

Hahaha! love that movie!

Anyway.... given that 5 out of 10 marriages fail, it's no surprise that 4 of those 5 who failed don't want to do it again. There used to be a social stigma associated with divorce. That's gone now so people don't feel any sort of pressure to try to save a failing marriage.

The only thing more expensive than marriage, is divorce.

[Guest 85rx-7gsl-se]

That sounds close to arguments I was told by hyper-religious "friends" who said that my marriage to my first wife was somehow not a "real" marriage because we had no children and were not planning to have them.

Not what was intended at all.

[daddyo]

And life is the leading cause of death lol

And spoons cause obesity.

[Guest 85rx-7gsl-se]

And the insanity goes on and on and on lol