A recent study found that four out of ten Americans think marriage is obsolete. This same study also showed that attitudes have been changing concerning gay relationships and gay marriage. Today, an unwed couple can be the definition of a family situation.
Although marriage is becoming less popular in the United States, various attitudes reflect different racial, social and ethnic groups regarding the institution of marriage and are reflected in a survey conducted by Pew Research Center and Time Magazine. The gap between marriage rates for college graduates and individuals with only a high school education is growing larger. In 1960, the gap was only 4%. Today, the gap is 16%. Among college graduates, 64% now marry, as compared with 48% of individuals with only high school educations. The reason the less educated Americans are marrying less often has to do with financial issues.
The study conducted by the Pew Research Center and Time Magazine also showed that 86% of respondents consider a single parent and a child to be a family. If marriage rates go down, then divorce rates should go down. Unfortunately, that is not the case. The divorce rate in most states in the United States is approximately 50%.
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