Americans more worried about drop in marriage rates than fewer births, Pew survey finds

Evangelical Christians most concerned, unaffiliated least so, data shows

Across all U.S. adults surveyed, 36% saw the drop in marriage rates as a negative for America’s future.

Survey respondents were far more sanguine about Americans having fewer children. Only 27% of survey respondents said the trend did not bode well for the future. Evangelicals were most concerned at 37%, followed by mainline Protestants at 31%, Catholics at 26%, and historically Black Protestants at 23%. Only 19% of the unaffiliated said a lower birth rate was a problem.

Higher percentages of those surveyed said a drop in births would yield a “positive impact” on the nation’s future.

Marriage has long been viewed as a key relationship within Christian congregations, and having children was often seen as assuring future generations of faithful members. Social changes since the 1960s, including the introduction of oral contraceptives for women and wider acceptance of couples living together, have changed these views.

More than three times as many U.S. adults — 71% — rated an enjoyable job or career as more central to happiness than being married, which scored 23%, the Pew data found.

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