Where Have All the Marrieds Gone?

“Watch the changing attitudes toward marriage,” contributing editor Lyle Schaller alerted us. “That’s the next big issue for the church.” Three reports over the next three weeks confirmed why he’s the guru of church culture.

The next big issue, it appears, is not the role of women in the church or homosexuality; it’s the growing aversion to marriage itself and the corresponding acceptance of cohabitation, sex included, by evangelicals.

The statistics: New analysis of census data confirms a major trend, the decline of the two-parent family and a sharp increase in unmarried couples and people living alone.

» In the year 2000, there were 54.5 million married-couple households, 52 percent of the nation’s 105.5 million households. That means 48 percent of all adult householders are unmarried. Ten years ago, married couples constituted 55 percent of households.

» Unmarried partner households are up 72 percent to 5.5 million, 7 percent of all adults.

» Single-mom households total 7.5 million, 9 percent of all households, an increase of 25 percent. A third of all babies are born to unmarried women whose median age is now late 20s.

» The number of one-person households, at 26 percent, is up 21 percent in ten years and has doubled since 1960.

Traditional households are declining, but single moms aren’t the only factor. We’re living longer, having children later, and postponing marriage.

More people are simply moving in together and finding it accepted.

The attitudes: Gallup reports 60 percent of Americans find nothing wrong with premarital sex, and 52 percent say living together is okay.

Young Christians increasingly support cohabitation. A study by Evangelical Alliance found that 33 percent of British evangelicals, ages 18 to 35, say they have no problem with living together. That’s up from 28 percent approval only six years ago. The 33 percent still trails 83 percent approval by non-Christians there, but is likely an indicator of shifting opinions among Christians worldwide.

Data from MSNBC, Newsweek, RNS, and ChristianityToday.com.