Why Marriage Rates Are Declining

        If you heard that the marriage rate in the United States had been declining over the past several decades, what would be your guess as to why that is? As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I was taught that marriage is central to God's plan for our spiritual progression. Growing up in an area that was predominately filled with members of the church, it was very common to see young adults get engaged and married quickly. From my viewpoint, it seemed highly unlikely that the marriage rate in the U.S. was declining when all of my friends and acquaintances were married or getting married as I had entered my young adult years. However, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, the U.S. had reached a new record low in marriage rates.

    While there are several different theories and explanations on why this rate has gotten lower, I believe that premarital sex and cohabitation are the main factors that can cause people to refrain from getting married. First off, it is natural for humans to have sexual desires and attraction. We have these sexual feelings to motivate us to have children in order for our species to remain alive. This a good desire to have, but it has to be controlled and used wisely. Many adults, and even adolescents, want to satisfy their needs through premarital sex and cohabitation. The concept of premarital sex is thrown around everywhere in our media and has become the norm for our society today. However, because of premarital sex, many people have turned to that as a way to fulfill their sexual desires.

    Even though I don't agree with premarital sex and cohabitation, I can understand why people are inclined to doing these things. Many people view cohabitation as a step towards marriage that will place them in a position to see if they are compatible in all ways (e.g. sexually, emotionally, financially). They have the mindset of "Why go through the paperwork of marriage if you end up filing for divorce anyways?"  or "We don't have enough money to throw a wedding right now, so we'll just move in together to see if it's worth it." I'll admit that one of the reasons I was afraid to get married was because I wasn't sure if I could survive on my own with someone I had never lived with before. I get it. Marriage can be hard and terrifying idea because it is such a big commitment that can possibly impact your future family.

    But that's one of the problems I find with cohabitation and premarital sex is that it can lead to you into becoming comfortable with the mindset that the relationship you have is only temporary and/or it is solely reliant on your sexual compatibility. While marriage does include sexual relations, there is so much more to marriage than that. Marriage is about being vulnerable, being willing to take on challenges that affect you and your spouse. It is centered on establishing a family and bringing children into the world where they can be raised by two commitment partners. For all of the single parents out there, I sure you will agree when I say that raising children is a lot easier with another adult involved.

    We have got to change our mindset on marriage for the sake of preserving the family. The more that the marriage rate declines in our country, the more our country's birth rates could decrease and the rate of single parents could grow. Children deserve to be raised by two partners who are fully committed to each other.