Fewer Britons are getting married, and researchers claims marriage will grow even rarer in the future.
Marriage is on the rocks in Britain, with the proportion of unmarried people set to exceed that of married people within 25 years as more men and women opt to live together without constraints, according to government statistics published this week.The proportion of married men is expected to fall from 53 percent in 2003 to 42 percent in 2031, while the percentage of married women will decline from 50 percent to 40 percent, Britain's Office for National Statistics predicted Thursday. ...
Further, more people will choose never to marry at all. By 2031 almost half of all adult men in the country will have never married, compared with 35 percent two years ago, the ONS said.
The proportion of never-married women is expected to rise to 39 percent from 28 percent in 2003.
This trend goes hand-in-hand with declining birth rates, and is a fascinating example of the human species seeking a developmental equilibrium far below our current level of civilization. Western civilization is now so wealthy that marriages aren't necessary for security, despite the fact that families are the foundation of our current prosperity. It's as if, though we see far by standing on the shoulders of giants, we refuse to stand tall to enable subsequent generations can see even farther by standing upon us.
Hedonism is an expensive luxury, and it seems rather unlikely that after paying the bill our culture will have enough left to pay the rent and utilities.
There are so many examples in the Bible and in extraBiblical history of civilations who continue to thrive after God has been tossed out, but only for a generation. The next generation doesn't remember the stories, and thus the return to BAAL.
Sorry folks... the sky isn't falling.
The sky isn't falling only to those who only watch the ground in front of them.
As for perversion being the cause of of a fall of a nation or empire lets not forget Rome. Rome was at it's height of power when it was most perverse. It wasn't until after it adopted Christianity that it really began to go down hill.
The main reason I'm responding though is to give MY reason for not getting married (at least now) and I think this probably applies to others as well. Why get married in a society where the laws are so biased against men? Maybe not even the laws but at least how the court battles go. If I get married and she decides I dont meet her 'emotional needs' 6 or 7 years down the road, she has every legal right to take my kids, half of my belongings and leave me for another man.. Not only do I have to be ok with this, I have to pay her to do it.
The problem isn't that there aren't financial incentinves to get married, but that for a woman there arent financial incentives to STAY married.
Now that there is no longer a social stigma regarding divorce, why would anyone think twice about doing it?
Im not terribly happy being alone but just being alone doesnt mean you're living in sin. Jesus & Paul spoke very highly of celibacy although its like the 8th deadly sin if you mention it to a protestant these days..
I can't recall a single one of my Christian friends being critical of anyone who is single. We might tease a bit, but not stigma.
The stigma only attaches to having sex outside of marriage, and folks who stay single are not staying celibate by any stretch of the imagination.
By the way, I agree with Tim regarding divorce laws. It is a terrible shame.
DD: So you have Ben Bateman's "Conservative ESP", too? Interesting.
I'm singularly impressed by your ability to determine the scope of my view of the world.
Too bad it's an incorrect determination.
Try again.
The 1950s-type family existed neither before nor after the 1950s... and nothing has changed so much, or so frequently, as the family down through the ages.
Two people with "issues" that would make them less-than-ideal parents aren't going to suddenly and miraculously become better parents by getting married.
Marriage isn't a guarantee of success... and being un-married isn't a guarantee of failure.
If you don't mean things, then why do you say them?
You said, "Sorry folks...the sky isn't falling."
That statement in and of itself tells the rest of us that you think hedonism/the issue in this post is no big deal. I simply expressed that fact that things are not always as they seem in regards to your statement. It has nothing to do with ESP.
Too bad your's is an incorrect determination.
Try again.;)
DD said: "That statement in and of itself tells the rest of us that you think hedonism/the issue in this post is no big deal."
Incorrect determination.
There's a difference between "no big deal" and "the sky isn't falling". It's a concern, but not the end of civilization as we know it that
some here have said it is.
Try again.
Tim: I think you're right on, but I hope you can find a woman who won't treat you that way.