The best ministry churches can offer to young men may be modeling good marriages. Men who grew up in homes without two biological parents marry later than men from traditional families. And they are more likely to swear off marriage altogether.

A survey commissioned by the National Marriage Project at Rutgers found that men from non-traditional homes also mistrust women more than other men do. Some 54% of men from two-parent homes say they would be ready to marry tomorrow if the right person came along, compared to 43% of men from non-traditional homes. And 22% of men ages 25 to 34 said they "just aren't the marrying kind." The survey also found that men from religious homes are more marriage ready than those raised in secular homes.

Cohabitation replaces dating: About 10 million people live with an unmarried partner. That's about 8% of U.S. couples, most in the 25-to-34 age group. Women view cohabitation as a commitment taken before marriage to that partner, while men see it as a step ...