Why Is Marriage Important to Children with Strong Faith?

Successful marriages and families are built upon principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ, according to “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.” Therefore, strong families, strong communities, and strong nations grow in atmospheres of freedom of religion and faith in God.

In her article in the Deseret News, Lois M. Collins reported on the results of “The Nationwide Study on Faith and Relationships.” She summarized the survey as saying that “as men disappear from living with their children and couples stop marrying or they divorce, Christianity in the U.S. takes a major hit.” She wrote that researchers found: “Family decline appears to fuel faith decline.” Some statistics from the study show that “marriage rates have fallen more than 30% since 2000 and a whopping 61% since 1970.” They also found that “less than half of young adults under 30 grew up in homes with married parents.” 

Per the study, 80% of all Sunday church attendees in the U.S. grew up in homes with biological parents who were married to each other. Now, that’s increasingly unusual. But the finding was true across all age groups, including those under 30. And it was true of 80% of never-married Sunday church attendees ages 25-29, while fewer than half of the general population that age grew up with continuously married biological parents.

So boys who grew up in homes with married parents are “considerably more likely to attend church regularly as adults,” according to the survey. By 2021, 4 in 10 births were to unmarried women, driving up the share of nonresidential fathers. The report says in the last decade, “fewer than half of all 17-year-olds are in homes with their two biological, continuously married parents.”

This study supports many other studies that show the value of children growing up in a home with their biological parents. Adults are messing up the lives of children in many ways. Therefore, parents will bless their children by staying married and living the gospel of Jesus Christ. Faith in Jesus Christ is critical to strong families, and strong families strengthen their communities and nations.