Citing a drop in the percent of married Americans age 18-64 from 75% in 1960 to under 50% in 2010, Lisa Neidert says marriage “has become less relevant in the U.S.” Several factors are contributory: the ballooning size of the divorced and separated population, and the concomitant drop in remarriage rates; the decreasing importance attached to children as a reason to marry; and the substitution of cohabitation for marriage among young adults. Of course, Neidert says, marriage is still an important option: “While many survey respondents think marriage is becoming obsolete, it is only appropriate that all Americans get to choose whether to tie the knot.”

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