Wedding vows may want to consider swapping out “as long as we both shall live” for “as long as I can put up with you leaving the toilet seat up” or “as long as nothing better comes along” because more Americans than ever believe marriage has lost its significance.
A study from the Pew Research Center finds that 39 percent of Americans think marriage is becoming obsolete, up from just 28 percent in 1978. The number may reflect shifting definitions about what constitutes a family.
Since 1960, the percentage of children under 18 that live with a parent or parents who are unwed or no longer married have jumped fivefold to 29 percent. That 29 percent breaks down to 15 percent with divorced or separated parents, 14 percent with never married parents, and 6 percent with parents who live together but chose to never get married.
“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.”
Full story at Yahoo News.
Tons of relationship resources.
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Definitely count me among the 40%. Given the horrendous legal impact - at least for men - it's a real losing game.
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