Family is the basic institution of society that impacts its functioning and contributes to further evolution. For centuries, it has been associated with marriage as the only possible way to create a family and promote the development of communities. However, today, one can observe the decline in the importance of marriage along with the significant growth in divorce rates. It can be associated with multiple factors that become more important today and impact the lives of all people. The scope of the given problem is significant, which is evidenced by many research works devoted to its investigation and debates about the future of families regarding the low popularity of marriage.
One of the central factors that contribute to high divorce rates is the decreased importance of religion and the church’s inability to control the life of every person. In past epochs, marriage was considered a sacred union blessed by the god, and there were no options for its ending (Weiten & Lloyd, 2006). Only priests or churchmen had the right to proclaim people as husbands and a wife. However, today, the majority of religions became more tolerant of divorce, and the formation of a family became associated with local authorities which have all the needed powers (Weiten & Lloyd, 2006). In such a way, destruction of the religious basis of marriage and its sacred nature preconditioned changes in people’s mentalities and the growth in divorce rates.
Another critical factor that causes a high divorce rate is the feminist movement and the increased independence of women. Previously, females did not have options for leaving their husbands because of the critical dependence on males’ finances and social stereotypes that prohibited these actions. However, today, under the impact of civil movements, women have equal rights with men, and their financial independence levels are high (Weiten & Lloyd, 2006). It facilitated the change in their mentality and shift in the social system of values. For this reason, females can end their marriage if they are not satisfied with their status or with their partner, which also contributes to the increase in the divorce rate.
Finally, today there are many families with one or no children, which also means that couples have more opportunities for ending their relations as there are no common responsibilities. The given trend comes from the focus on career and other domains than family. That is why it is possible to predict that in the future, the institution of marriage will be even less popular, and there will be no individuals married to each other throughout their lives.
Moreover, populations might prefer to form families not marrying each other, which is another popular brand in the modern world. Today, many partners prefer to live together without the official registration of their relations. Because of the peculiarities of contemporary society, the given number will continue to grow.
Altogether, marriage becomes less popular today because of the significant shifts in people’s mentalities. The decreased importance of religion, along with the growing independence of women, creates the basis for the increase in the number of divorces every year. It is possible to predict the preservation of the given tendency as society continues to evolve, and people follow its trends and try to devote their attention to careers or want to preserve their autonomy. In the future, there will be almost no couples who remain married for the bigger part of their lives.
Reference
Weiten, W. & Lloyd, M. (2006). Psychology applied to modern life: Adjustment in the 21st century. (8th ed.). Thompson Higher Education.