All this happened in a very short time frame. Just six years ago, married couples made up 52 percent of American households, and between 2000 and 2006, the number of unmarried women grew at twice the rate as married women. More American women than ever before in history are living without a husband — over half (51.2 percent) are divorced, separated, widowed or never married. According to a report, Unmarried America, 2007, unmarried Americans are less involved with their communities, less likely to belong to a group or a church, and have fewer ties with their neighbors. They are more influenced by media (television and movies) and they are less likely to watch television news or to read newspapers.
These changes are profoundly reshaping American society. These changes in family structure are indeed a qualitative weakening of critical magnitude, being especially detrimental to the well being of women and children, who bear the brunt of such cultural trends. If current conditions continue, 40 percent of all American children will spend some time in their childhood living in the household of a cohabiting couple — where they are at risk of a wide range of negative outcomes as documented by the Urban Institute and other research institutions.
Yet, ancient Rome's great orator and statesman, Cicero, declared that marriage was the "first bond of society." Indeed, throughout history, marriage has been at once both the cornerstone and keystone of civilized societies, while sexual promiscuity has been a corrosive, destructive force weakening a civilization. Reo Christenson studied more than eighty early societies and found a strong correlation between sexual restraint and social progress. "Cultures that were more sexually permissive," he found, "displayed less cultural energy, creativity, intellectual development and individualism, and a slower general cultural ascent."
Indeed, the weight of evidence is overwhelming: the traditional family with a married mother and father committed to each other for life not only forms the best environment for children, it is essential to the effective functioning of the entire community. Thus, lifelong marriage provides an unequaled foundation for a strong and vibrant nation.