The Connection Between Education and Marriage
Posted by Michelle on March 7th, 2007This is a really interesting article that I think is worth reading and discussing. So, here’s the invitation: go read. Come back and discuss. 
I’m particularly interested in considering this article in light of the prophetic counsel and teachings we receive regarding education, marriage, and family.
A couple of highlights from the article follow:
Punctuating a fundamental change in American family life, married couples with children now occupy fewer than one in every four households — a share that has been slashed in half since 1960 and is the lowest ever recorded by the census.
As marriage with children becomes an exception rather than the norm, social scientists say it is also becoming the self-selected province of the college-educated and the affluent….
Marriage has declined across all income groups, but it has declined far less among couples who make the most money and have the best education. These couples are also less likely to divorce….
Around[1970], rates of divorce and cohabitation were rising sharply — and widely publicized.
“What I don’t think the public knew then or knows now is that well-educated, upper-middle-class professionals did not engage in these activities nearly as much as less-advantaged families,” [Isabel V.] Sawhill [an expert on marriage]Â said….
Class…is a much better tool than race for predicting whether Americans will marry or cohabit, said Pamela Smock, co-author of the review and a University of Michigan sociology professor.
“The poor aren’t entering into marriage very much at all,” said Smock, who has interviewed more than 100 cohabitating couples. She said young people from these backgrounds often do not think they can afford marriage.
Reminds me of this article about similarly declining marital statistics. I find it to be a sad commentary on our nation that the trend is the way it is.
Comment # 1 left by Connor on March 8th, 2007
My first thought is that there may be a link between what one feel as their responsibilities. There was a time when many people would have thought that getting an education, getting married, keeping your job, going to church, volunteering, etc. was all part of what made for responsible citizens in society. I think we are losing that.
There seems to be a selfish movement going on where people are really only interested in what seems best for themselves at the moment.
Comment # 2 left by Eric Nielson on March 8th, 2007
So I guess the question is, is class the cause or the effect of marriage and intact structure. I would tend to think latter, but then I’m coming from the middle class perspective.
Comment # 3 left by Doc on March 9th, 2007
I would suspect that there might be a little bit of both, Doc.
This article made me wonder if sometimes we can’t see the blessings that can come from following prophetic counsel. Of course, we know how the prophets feel about marriage and having children. But if education might have an effect on the actual occurrence of marriage in the first place and the stability of that marriage, isn’t it interesting to consider that their counsel related to education may also be something that can, statistically at least, help and strengthen marriage? Now, I’m not trying to push money-making and tout class per se, but just am musing over how sometimes I think counsel we receive is more multi-faceted than perhaps we can really fathom.
Comment # 4 left by Michelle on March 10th, 2007
Thanks, btw, for the comments, and for the link, Connor!
Comment # 5 left by Michelle on March 10th, 2007
Relax, people. The righteous have been crying about the state of the “modern age” for the last thousand years, and probably before that. My view, of my children and their friends, is that they are at least as interested in being parents and rearing great kids as we were. Maybe ever more so. Give them a little credit. They are going to surprise you.
Comment # 6 left by Duff on March 11th, 2007
Duff, this isn’t about not giving credit, but about watching trends, that in my mind, line up with prophetic warnings, counsel and concerns. Especially as our children look to the prophets, we can have great hope for the future.
Comment # 7 left by Michelle on March 11th, 2007