The 2004 United State Marriage Status Report Shows that marriage rate and divorce rate are dropping, and unmarried couples are on the rise. Last year, United State’s unmarried couples rose to 5 million, and over 50% of the first time married couples have lived with one another before.
At the same time, United State’s marriage rate for woman has since from 76.5% in 1970 dropped to 46.5%. According to the latest statistics, entering 2005, the marriage rate for woman has dropped further to 39.9%. Even the marriage rate for men, it dropped to its lowest since 1960, from 69% to 55%.
United State’s divorce rate was at its peak in 1980 at 22.6%, at year 2000, the rate was 18.8%. In 2004, it dropped ever more to 17.7%. In 1960, United State’s divorce rate for men was just above 3%, while woman was just above 2%.
The report analysis shows that from the totaling the statistics, it can be seen that marriages has become more steady than the past few years, yet people who marries have decreased; more people choose to live together unmarried. The research also indicates that pre-marriage pregnancies are on the rise: last year there are 35% of infants born to a single parent, marking the highest every in history.
Already, prior findings from numerous of US governmental and non-governmental organizations have indicated the effects of unmarried couples to the next generation. The US Census Bureau announced a few days ago that the result of its report shows kids who live with a single father compared to one who lives with a full family or with a single mother buys less health insurance, and single mother families are the poorest among the group. US sociologist Pamela Smock recently from a research discovered that once unmarried couples separate, and when one parent faces financial hardship, or has low education level, the child turning emotional, performing pre-mature sex, or abusing drugs are 7 times more likely than children from a normal family; depending on social welfare are 17 time more likely.
Currently, there are twenty-one states in US that allows unmarried couples to become legally married without the need to obtain a marriage license or perform wedding ceremony. Yet Arizona, Illinois, Missouri, and New York have announced that this kind of marriage will not have any legal standing.
Children psychiatrist Bill Maier said, “People are not willing to determine whether unmarried couples living with one another is right or wrong. Yet in the body of Christ, we believe that sex is the Lord’s gift, and the Bible teaches us the proper marriage.”
