TITLE:  STATE OF OUR UNIONS: Statistics of the Current Trends
TEXT:  Mark 10:2-9
PROPOSITION:  God has not changed His definition of marriage.
QUESTION:  What?
KEY WORD:  Statistics
SCRIPTURE READING:  Same

INTRODUCTION:

1. Philip Womack sent me an email about an article in USA Today with a lot of current statistics about marriage.
2. Today I begin a 4-part series on “THE STATE OF OUR UNIONS”
3. Each of these lessons will be preached on Sunday morning during April.
4. Today’s lesson is full of charts, statistics and data about the current state of marriage in America.
5. At the close of worship this morning, there will be printouts of all the charts available for you to take home and study in greater detail.

1. Percentage of Married Adults Declining
   1. 72% - 1970
   2. 59% - 2002
2. 5.5 Million Unwed Couples (cohabitation)
3. Marital status of adults
   1. 58% married
   2. 25% never married
   3. 10% divorced
   4. 7% widowed
4. Marriage is later in life – Women 25.3; Men 26.9
5. Divorced Population is rising – 3% - 1970; 10% - 2002
6. Anniversaries reached in steady decline

Marriage is Diluted and Polluted

1. Cohabitation
   1. 50% of all couples live together before marriage
   2. 67% have lived with someone before they marry
2. Divorce
   1. Only half of all marriages last 10 years
3. Children out of wedlock
   1. 4 out of 10 cohabiting couples have children out of wedlock
   2. 1/3 of these children are raised by one parent or neither parent
4. Later Marriages
   1. College education
   2. Start career
   3. Cost to begin home and family

Marriage is still a vital part of our society

1. Most men and women are married – 80% - 95%
2. Marriage has worked well (more or less) for millenniums
3. Now some are trying to “fix” it.

Modern Adjustments

1. Same-sex unions (lesbian and homosexual unions)
2. Polygamy (1 man & 5 women)
3. Open (adultery with permission)
4. Communal (5 men & 5 women)
5. No fault divorce (no reason needed)