Good news and bad news on the family
The divorce rate has dropped dramatically since its high point in the 1980s and, particularly, since the “Great Recession” of 2008. But so has the marriage rate of the middle class.
First, the good news:
In 1980, there were 22.6 divorces for every 1,000 marriages. That number has been in a gradual decline, but after 2008, when there were 18.7 divorces per thousand, the rate has dropped rapidly, as of 2008, to 15.1.
Now divorce rates and statistics are notoriously problematic and difficult to define, for reasons explained in this article. The above numbers are for a single year, though marriages typically last for a number of years. Statistically, the possibility of divorce for any given marriage grows with the number of years. But other factors are also involved in such calculations, such as the divorced-but-remarried. It used to be said that half of all marriages will end in divorce. That generalization was contested, but it had some validity.
Click here to read more from Dr. Gene Edward Veith.
Dr. Gene Veith is the author of some 25 books, a retired literature professor, provost emeritus at Patrick Henry College, and director of the Cranach Institute at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind.
Be Informed
Have you ever wondered why “Abortion-rights advocates often have an advantage in the public debate because, with the help of media allies, they disregard anti-abortion activists whose witness undercuts their narrative”? Learn why here.
Be Equipped
Civil rights law matter because some have asked “the Supreme Court to rewrite our nation’s civil rights laws in a way that would directly undermine one of their main purposes: protecting the equal rights of girls and women.” Dr. Ryan Anderson explains why this is problematic here.
Be Encouraged
“Silence among the tombs, but then loud rumbling and a rolling stone—the earthquake and the empty tomb. And so today: We await the new creation of the Lord, when our mortal bodies will be changed. We wait, we wait, we mortal men. Let us comfort one another with the news of this broken silence and final victory.”
