How Marriage Has Changed

In over half a century, marriage has transformed from being a social requirement to simply being an option in today’s society. What has caused this change? Many institutions in our society have changed drastically along with marriage. Although these institutions have not caused marriage to be optional, they do strongly correlate with the decreased value. The economy, education, religion, and government have all altered since the 1950s. When any institution encounters a change, all other institutions are affected. Family is a major institution in society, and I believe that marriage is an important aspect of this institution. Cohabitation, religion, women in the work world and divorce have all effected the way marriage is viewed today. In the 1950s, it was practically assumed that every person would get married. If you did not get married, society thought there was something wrong with you that made you unwanted by the opposite sex. Half a century ago, there were very few cohabiting relationships. Cohabiting relationships are couples that live together, possibly even have kids together, but are not married. Living together without being married was frowned about back then. Mostly because of religious beliefs, parents did not want their daughters to live with a man before marrying him. Religion has had a huge impact on American marriage today. In the 1950s, church attendance was at an all-time high (Cherlin 85-86). Then, religious style stressed that the importance of being together in a holy place was just as important as families being together at home. Churches frowned upon divorce. They believed that you should work through your problems and divorce should be a last resort. Another thing churches didn’t have back then was childcare for mothers. Church never thought of the day that they would need to have a daycare for working mothers. Wives stayed at home in the 1950s and the husbands’ income supported their families(Human Resources). Men could get a

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