“Marriage is not dead! It is very much alive in the hearts of a vast majority of today’s unmarried Americans.
According to the study With This Ring … A National Survey on Marriage in America conducted by the National Fatherhood Initiative (NFI), 86-percent of American singles want to be married someday. Despite living in a culture with lax divorce laws, watching Hollywood’s high profile couples treat marriage like a revolving door, and hearing the “half of all marriages end in divorce” myth repeated incessantly over the last two decades, today’s singles still want to live happily ever after … with rings. They want a lifelong marriage.
But before they ride off into the sunset, singles plan to stop and ask for directions. According to the survey, three-out-of-four unmarried persons who are searching for someone to marry said, “they would attend a free premarital education class.”
“I don’t know what a healthy marriage looks like,” said one bride-to-be. “Almost every married couple in my life has either divorced or has a dysfunctional relationship. I don’t want to end up like them.” With the lack of role models, engaged couples are turning to churches, counselors, and community organizations for marriage preparation programs – and good thing. Investing in the marriage before the wedding makes a significant impact. The NFI survey shows that couples who had premarital education rated the quality of their marriage higher than those couples who did not. Yet, only one-third of ever-married couples received premarital education.
If today’s singles follow through in their quest for premarital education (after finding a mate to marry), we would witness a significant spike in the percentage of couples who receive premarital preparation, and therefore stronger and healthier marriages. This information is good news for those who have been looking for viable solutions to reverse divorce trends. If most singles desire to be married, and a majority of them want premarital education, and premarital education helps marriages stay healthier and last longer, supplying more opportunities for couples to prepare for marriage is a no-brainer.
That is, if churches, ministries, and community marriage initiatives are paying attention.”
For more of this article, and tips to start or enhance a premarital program (i.e. premarital counseling, premarital education, premarital preparation) for engaged couples, CLICK HERE!
