The reasons why marriage still matters in a society where the institution seems to be declining as an ideal are, ironically, literally countless. Every way social scientists and other scholars know how to measure such things regularly demonstrates that marriage improves all important aspects of well-being for women, men, children and society as a whole.
In an effort to help document and explain this fact, two important Canadian scholars have just published a new book that is worth careful attention: I … Do? Why Marriage Still Matters. The authors, Andrea Mrozek and Peter Jon Mitchell, both with Cardus, a leading Canadian think tank, have long histories studying marriage as a social institution.
Their book, as they explain, “seeks to equip readers with the language and logic of marriage as a social institution that contributes to a flourishing, even and especially, for those who are nonreligious.” They explain that those who take faith seriously “have other theological underpinnings to lend color to the tapestry of life” but “nonreligious people who no longer get married are thus deprived of yet another source of meaning and stability in a transient world.”
They admit it “has become a cliché in certain circles” but their case is that family, established on the clarity of marriage, “is the building block of community and society.” Why? Because “family is the sine qua non of learning to live in community.” They continue, “Family is the primary place where children learn and are formed as people.” Mrozek and Mitchell ask us to reflect on this. “We don’t often stop to ponder this point, but a stable and healthy home contributes to a healthy citizenry.” And marriage is what cements families together, better than any other social institution. Our authors explain, “Marriage continues to be relevant today, in part because it is focused on life beyond ourselves.” It is one of the only major social institutions to do so.
They ask, “How much evidence shows that married people tend to accumulate more wealth, enjoy better health and fulfillment, and their children experience better outcomes on a number of measures?” They answer, “At this point, quite a bit.” It’s true, and this finding is such a truism it has earned itself a name in academic circles. “These benefits have been termed the marriage advantage in the social sciences [emphasis in original].”
Boosting Fertility
Declining population is a very serious problem in most parts of the world today. But these authors explain “marriage and fertility remain firmly linked” and that fertility will not rise in any country if marriage rates continue to decline. They add, “Surveys show that women want to have more children than they are currently having, but under the right circumstances – marriage being a key factor.”
Andrea Mrozek, the lead author, explains the mission of their book here:
Mrozek and Mitchell close their book instructing us,
Mrozek and Mitchell challenge us that “now more than ever, North Americans need to reimagine what a healthy marriage culture could look like in a pluralistic society.” Their important new book will go far in helping that happen.
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