Why Are Strong Families Essential to Creating Strong Nations?

According to Dr. James Dobson, the “strength of our nation rises and falls on the strength of our families.” Therefore, strong marriages and strong families are essential for a strong nation.

J.P. De Gance, “founder and president of Communio, a nonprofit organization that equips churches to promote healthy relationships, marriages and the family,” discussed Dr. Dobson’s legacy in an article titled “James Dobson was right all along about the family.” 

According to the De Gance article, Dr. Dobson was a pediatric psychologist and founder of Focus on the Family. He shared his counsel about families for decades, but he was mocked by “socially liberal critics” who said that he was an “alarmist, out of touch and even repressive for his views.” De Gance rejected the socially liberally view and wrote, “But time has proved Dobson right, and we’re now witnessing the consequences of ignoring his warnings.”

Modern social science, on the other hand, backs up Dobson’s prophetic views about marriage. History also shows us what happens when the atomized family became dominant. Family breakdown, studies have shown, on the whole leads to the increase of poverty, crime and epidemic loneliness. Children raised without stable homes are, also on average, at greater risk for academic, economic and emotional struggles. Neighborhoods with high rates of family instability inevitably struggle with higher rates of violence.

But even as progressives have attacked Dobson and others who pointed this out, not everyone ignored him. Millions of Americans bought his books and listened to his radio broadcasts and built their lives around Dobson’s teaching. Their families are stronger for it. Parents used his guidance to raise what he called “the strong-willed child.” Couples took his advice to strengthen their marriages. Churches drew from his wisdom to build ministries that offered hope. Because of Dobson’s tireless work, countless families are flourishing today who otherwise might not have.

That is no small legacy. Dobson’s influence is woven into the lives of millions who found in him not just a critic of culture, but a coach for living faithfully and fruitfully.

Dobson’s vindication leaves us with a choice. We can lament what we’ve lost, or we can learn from his example and go build healthy marriages and healthy families. We now know, more than ever, what works. Stable, loving marriages give adults purpose and joy.

According to Brad Wilcox, director of the National Marriage Project, the happiest Americans aren’t the wealthiest or the most successful in their careers. The happiest Americans are married, churchgoing and, often, parents. Stable families give children the foundation to thrive. They provide communities with the resilience to withstand economic and cultural storms.

If America wants renewal, we must start at home. Churches need to place marriage and family back at the center of their ministry. Civic leaders need to recognize that family health is not just a private good but a public necessity. Parents need to see their marriages not just as a covenant with each other, but as an inheritance for their children and an investment in the next generation.