4 in 10 Americans believe that marriage is becoming obsolete
London: A new survey in the US has revealed that almost four in ten couples believe that marriage is becoming obsolete. More people are accepting the view that wedding bells aren't needed to have a happy family, reports the Daily Mail.
A poll by the Pew Research Centre in conjunction with Time magazine highlights
the rapidly changing notions of the American family. According to their report,
nearly one in three American children are living with a parent who is divorced,
separated or never married - a five-fold increase from 1960. 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 - has
parents who are live-in couples who opted to raise kids together without getting
married. About 39 percent of Americans said marriage was becoming obsolete. And
that sentiment follows US census data 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 agreed 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,” he added.
The changing views of family are being driven largely by young adults aged 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. 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. 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.
