Marriage Trivia From Maggie Gallagher

Both Gallagher and Coontz offer interesting explanations in their answers to the questions.

From Maggie Gallagher:

"Between the early '70s and the early '90s the proportion of women with college diplomas whose marriages dissolved in the first ten years plummeted from 24.3 percent to 16.7 percent. Divorce rates among those with less than a college degree, meanwhile, increased slightly from 33.7 percent to 35.7 percent."

"In 2004, the number of divorces per 1000 married women was 17.7; in 1960 it was 9.2."
"... since 1960 the number of unmarried couples in America increased by nearly 1,200 percent."
"The proportion of out-of-wedlock births has sextupled since 1960. It has doubled since just 1980."
"Christian philosophers and advocates of political liberty have long understood that strong marital bonds protect children and women, civilize men, benefit society, and foster political liberty and limited government."
"As many as one-third of divorced women slip below the poverty level after divorce."
"Divorce approximately doubles the risk of long-term permanent damage to children."
"The marital alliance is fundamentally a reproductive alliance."
"Mere religious affiliation may not reduce divorce, but religious practice clearly does."