The Marriage in Society Report
Examining the Importance of Marriage and Family
A Research Project of the Oregon Family Council Education Foundation
We offer this report to contribute to the ongoing public dialogue about the importance of marriage and family. This report summarizes some of the vast data that has been compiled about the marriage of men and women and its impact on adults, children, families and society. This report is in no way exhaustive; it’s simply a snapshot of a collective body of social research over time.
Our aim is to help policy makers, opinion leaders, community activists and concerned citizens gain a broader understanding of marriage and the role it plays in individual, family and community life.
Most of the data you’ll review casts a positive light on traditional marriage and a cautionary light on other family arrangements like divorce, single parenting or cohabitation. Please don’t misinterpret these findings to suggest that the Oregon Family Council is critical or unsympathetic to these other family arrangements. We believe every family needs support. Furthermore, as encouraging as the following statistics are, we recognize that marriage is not a magical doorway to a better life. These are statistical findings and they don’t hold true in every individual case.
With those important caveats and disclaimers out of the way, this report will demonstrate the following:
When marriage works, it works very, very well.
Virtually every sector of society benefits from healthy marriages, especially children.
Non-married families levy a heavy social and economic cost to society.
Many members of society, especially young adults, are poorly informed and therefore disenchanted with the idea of marriage, choosing statistically less desirable family arrangements.
There are reasonable steps that policy makers, community leaders, educators and the faith community can take to strengthen marriage.
Our hope is that this report will be a step toward building stronger and healthier Oregon families.