A new report suggests that more people are accepting the view that marriage isn’t necessary to have a family.
The Pew Research Center finds that nearly one in three American children under 18 is living with a parent or parents who are unwed or no longer married. That’s a fivefold increase from 1960.
U.S. census data released in September showed marriages hit an all-time low of 52 percent for adults 18 and over.
About 39 percent of Americans surveyed say marriage is becoming obsolete. In 1978, just 28 percent believed that.
When asked what constitutes a family, the vast majority of Americans agree that a married couple, with or without children, fits that description. But four of five surveyed pointed also to an unmarried, opposite-sex couple with children or a single parent. Three of five people said a same-sex couple with children was a family.
Is marriage important? What does family mean to you?
