Shocking Statistics You Need to See…
In the last 100 years, our culture has been greatly influenced by many different philosophies, anthropologies, and revolutions. Marxism, Sexual Revolution, Radical Feminism, and Atheism to name a few. Because of this, our culture’s conception of identity, the meaning of freedom and love has shifted. This has led to our understanding of God, marriage, family, and sexual intimacy to shift as well. Here are some results in the United States:
US High School Study shows:
2021: 25% of youth identify as LGBT+[i]
2021: 9.2% of youth identify as Trans[ii]
US Divorce Statistics:
1901-1906: 8% Divorce Rate[iii]
1979-1981: 53% Divorce Rate[iv]
2021: 32% Divorce Rate[v]
Why 18% decrease? Well, in Canada and the United States, the marriage rate dropped 50% from around 1955-2005.[vi]
US Births out of Wedlock:
1960: 5% born out of wedlock[vii]
1995: 32% born out of wedlock[viii]
2021: 40% born out of wedlock[ix]
Sexually Transmitted Disease (STDs):
1945: 2 known sexually transmitted diseases: syphilis and gonorrhea.
1995: 35-50 different sexually transmitted diseases.[x]
I do not want to give sole credit to a certain person, a particular revolution/movement, or a group that has caused these statistical shifts. But we must ask ourselves, what has caused this? And what is the solution to begin healing our wounded culture, identity, marriage, family, and all relationships?
How can YOU begin to be an instrument of healing and restoration in a culture that deeply thirsts for it. Mother Teresa sure had a good solution, “If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.”
Endnotes:
[i] https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/supplemental-mmwr/students_by_sexual_identity.htm
[ii] Kacie M. Kidd, Gina M. Sequeira, Claudia Douglas, Taylor Paglisotti, David J. Inwards-Breland, Elizabeth Miller, Robert W. S. Coulter; Prevalence of Gender-Diverse Youth in an Urban School District. Pediatrics June 2021; 147 (6): e2020049823. 10.1542/peds.2020-049823
[iii] Edward Perrin, 100 Years of Marriage and Divorce Statistics United States, 1967-1967, (Maryland: Health and Resources Administration National: National Center for Health Statistics, 1973).
[iv] Clarke SC. Advance report of final divorce statistics, 1989 abd 1990. Monthly vital statistics report; vol 43 no 8, suppl. Hyattsville, Maryland: National Center for Health Statistics, 1995.
[v] https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/dvs/marriage-divorce/national-marriage-divorce-rates-00-21.pdf (CDC/NCHS National Vital Statistics System).
[vi] For studies see The Family Portrait: A Compilation of Data, Research and Public Opinion on the Family, 2nd ed., ed. Bridget Maher (Washington, DC: The Family Research Council, 2004) and “Marriages” in The Daily, January 17, 2007, a publication of Statistics Canada.
[vii] Statistics from 1960 and 1995 in David Popenoe’s “Life without Father,” in Lost Fathers: The Politics of Fatherlessness in America, ed. Cynthia R. Daniels (New York: St. Martin’s Griffin Press, 2000), 34; the 2009 findings reported in “Why Marriage Matters” by Caitlin Flanagan, in Time, Jul 13, 2009, 45-49.
[viii] Ibid., 45-49.
[ix] Martin JA, Hamilton BE, Osterman MJK, Driscoll AK. Births: Final Data for 2019. National Vital Statistics Reports; vol 70 no 2. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2021. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.15620/cdc:100472.
[x] Janet Smith, “Contraception: Why Not?”, Talk given at a Catholic Physicians Guild meeting at the Pontifical College Josephinum, Columbus, Ohio in May 1994.