The evangelical movement in the US has made it abundantly clear that one of their bread-and-butter issues is marriage. Many support a constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. Many have suggested that the best way for a single mother to get off of "welfare" is to accept a marriage proposal from almost any man that will have them. Time and time again, marriage is viewed as a key issue, front and center.
At the same time, most fundamentalists seem to favor conservative fiscal policies. They tend to oppose the minimum wage, unions, Medicare, Social Security, unemployment insurance and just about ANY strategy that maintains or boosts the social safety net. By and large, they favor a strong military, low taxes and policies that benefit the already well-off. You know, the sorts of policies that have landed the US in our current economic quagmire?
I bring up these two seemingly unrelated issues because data from the US Census Bureau underscores how conservative economic policies are exerting an effect on the "sanctity of marriage."
Kind of ironic, don't ya think?
At the same time, most fundamentalists seem to favor conservative fiscal policies. They tend to oppose the minimum wage, unions, Medicare, Social Security, unemployment insurance and just about ANY strategy that maintains or boosts the social safety net. By and large, they favor a strong military, low taxes and policies that benefit the already well-off. You know, the sorts of policies that have landed the US in our current economic quagmire?
I bring up these two seemingly unrelated issues because data from the US Census Bureau underscores how conservative economic policies are exerting an effect on the "sanctity of marriage."
In America, marriages fell to a record low in 2009, with just 52 percent of adults 18 and over saying they were joined in wedlock, compared to 57 percent in 2000.While I'm sure that many fundamentalist Christian believe that the decline in rates of marriage is the result of our "Godless" and "Satan-worshiping" society, it turns out the real culprit may be the policies they support and the candidates they vote for!
The never-married included 46.3 percent of young adults 25-34, with sharp increases in single people in cities in the Midwest and Southwest, including Cleveland, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Albuquerque, N.M. It was the first time the share of unmarried young adults exceeded those who were married.
Marriages have been declining for years due to rising divorce, more unmarried couples living together and increased job prospects for women. But sociologists say younger people are also now increasingly choosing to delay marriage as they struggle to find work and resist making long-term commitments...
Kind of ironic, don't ya think?
I find it ironic that some of the iconic figures of American Conservatism, such as Ronald Reagan Newt Gingrich & Rush Limbaugh, have been divorced. So I do not think American Conservatives really support marriage. They just use it as a political wedge issue. And you are correct, if they really stable families they would support a social safety net.
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