Gallup’s latest Values and Beliefs update, conducted last month, shows that 92% of Americans say married men and women having an affair is morally wrong, garnering more opprobrium than any other moral issue tested in the poll. By way of contrast, almost 6 out of 10 Americans say unmarried men and women having sexual relations is morally acceptable. A little over half say having a baby out of wedlock is morally OK.
… much of the occurrence of single parenthood is not the result of divorce, but of a failure to enter into a committed marriage before having children
Jeff Snowden, OnlineAthens
Link: Married couples will soon be a minority in Britain
Within 20 years, only two out of five adults will be married, according to the Office for National Statistics. Husbands and wives will make up only 41 percent of the over-16 population by 2031, when they will be outnumbered by divorcees, single people and cohabiting couples. There were 231,450 marriages in 2007, 3.3 per cent fewer than the year before. The only year in which there was a smaller number of weddings was 1895, when there were 228,204. Will the U.S. also see similar trends to those emerging in Europe?
Link: white paper: Approaches to Strengthen Families & Communities
Achieving balance between work and family—especially within a shrinking economy—is challenging for all families. The Obama-Biden plan for families includes several agenda items for supporting low-income and working families, and presents an overall strategy to strengthen families at home, to ensure that all American families can work and care for their children. This white paper notes lessons learned from the Office of Family Assistance Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood demonstration grantees. ICF recommends disseminating information on this ground-breaking work to promote innovative approaches to strengthening relationships, families, and communities. (Download full PDF)
Link: Networked Families
A study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project shows that more than 90% of married couples with children have cellphones, computers and an Internet connection. They are using them to stay connected in new ways, and connectedness was a driving force in getting the devices.
