[M]aybe when you agreed to “love and honor until death do you part,” you wondered if you really would. Would both of you share that level of commitment? Would both of you think this relationship would survive the inevitable missteps and hardships that plague even the strongest of bonds?
Or would you become part of that statistic that we’ve heard for so long, that 50% of all marriages end in divorce? That doesn’t bode well for many, does it?
Well, that would be the case if that number was accurate. However, it’s not.
Declining Divorce Rates?
Yes, half of all marriages end in divorce. That stat has been floating around for so long, that its almost part of our cultural fabric. But according the Huffington Post, the nation’s divorce rate has been dropping for years. About 70% of marriages that began in the 1990s reached their 15th anniversary, up from roughly 65% that began in the 70s and 80s. The rate is even lower for those married in the early 2000s (albeit we are talking small numbers).
The number was created, however. In the 70s, as feminism took hold in society, divorce rose, according to economists Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfer. Since then, marriage slowly evolved into its “modern day form, based on love and shared passions, and often two incomes and shared housekeeping duties.”
Declining Divorce Rates, What Has Changed?
Another factor was that people began marrying later in life. In the 1950s, the median age for marriage was 23 for men and 20 for women.
[tweet “In 2004 first time marriage ages rose to 27 for men and 26 for women.”]
If numbers continue to drop, 2/3 of marriages will never involve divorce, according to data from Wolfers.
Maybe those realities will give confidence to couples contemplating marriage or remarriage; the future is brighter than they realize.
What do you think is the reason we are seeing declining divorce rates? Has your thoughts on marriage changed?
Images from DollarPhotoClub.com
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