According to this study by the Pew Research Center, the institution of marriage is in trouble. The study concludes that:
Marriage remains the norm among the college educated, but is declining among those on the “lower rungs of the socio-economic ladder.”
In 1960, 68% of all “twenty-somethings” were married. In 2008, just 26% of all “twenty-somethings” were married.
The “young” are more inclined to cohabitate without marriage and view same-sex and interracial marriages favorably.
“Family” remains important to most Americans, even though the definition of “family” is changing.
39% of Americans believe that marriage is “becoming obsolete.”
Americans are more “upbeat” about the future of marriage than they are about the future of the country’s educational system, economic system, and morality.
70% say that single women having children is bad for society and 61% say that a child needs a mother and a father “to grow up happily.”
In 1969, 68% of Americans believed premarital sex was wrong. In 2009, 60% of Americans believe premarital sex is wrong.
94% of Americans believe that when compared to their parents their relationship with their spouse is either closer or the same.
86% of Americans believe that a single parent and a child constitute a family. 80% say that an unmarried couple living together with a child is a family. 63% say that a gay or lesbian couple living together with a child is a family. The majority believe that a couple living together without a child is not a family.
Anyone want to interpret these statistics for me?
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