This document discusses marriage and family life in America. It notes that while marriage was once considered a sacred lifelong commitment, divorce is now very common in the US. The institution of marriage is crumbling with high divorce and cohabitation rates. Failed marriages present economic challenges for the government. Working long hours also negatively impacts family time and stability. While religion is linked to lower divorce rates, America has shorter waiting periods for divorce than other nations. Overall the essay examines the declining state of marriage in the US.

1. Marriage and Family Life in America Sample Essay
Marriage according to the Collins Cobuild dictionary means the
relationship between a husband and a wide. The bible also adds that
the relationship must be God ordained. A marriage in essence is
designed to last for a lifetime and not some years. Even so, our
generation considers marriage a contract that can be terminated at any
time.
While some say marriage is co-existence, others consider it an ideal
way to share daily expenses. According to recent studies, marriage has
been identified as one of the institutions that are crumbling at a very
high rate. This essay is therefore aimed at underlining the American
marriages status (Donovan). Additionally, the paper is designed to
educate us on reasons behind failing marriages in the US.
Broken marriages in the country present the American government
with new challenges economically. As the US government thinks of
ways of reversing the trend, it is imperative to note that the damage
cannot be fixed easily. Even so the national and state governments are
worsening the situation. The tax code has a lot of marriage tax
penalties preventing development of sustainable marriages (Glen).
Perhaps the government should begin by eliminating the penalties and
start encouraging family life as well as supporting marriages. Marriage
in the past generation was considered sacred and divorce was a very
rare thing. Currently however, divorce is a very common scenario. The
number of single parents is increased as well as cohabitation and
divorce rates. Child poverty on the other hand is some of the failed
American marriage institution pointers.
The culture of American marriage is aping many European nations
where one can easily marry and divorce as he or she wishes (Glen).
Sexual morals have also changed at a tremendous rate and family ties

2. are being frayed with welfare states and reckless abandons which are
always preventing family creation.
Worryingly, the trend is being nipped across the middle class in the bud
in the country. In the past, the social class was seen as a very
stronghold of the US marriage life. Today, Americans do not take the
institution of marriage seriously as they did decades ago. Many
Americans according to Donovan prefer casual arrangements where a
person can walk in and out of a relationship without necessarily having
to go through an expensive and painful divorce process.
There are also those who prefer to marry later on in life when they are
sure of settling down and managing challenges characterized with the
institution. The number of kids born out of wedlock has additionally
increased at a high rate. The perception of the institution by the
general public has also changed.
Americans are no longer responsible about the state of the institution
as kids from single parents complain that they do not enjoy the
company of a mother or a father. Opinions are also divided as to
whether individuals or couples should simply cohabit or marry. Even
though the term cohabitation is seen as the most ideal arranged as
opposed to marriage, research reveals that marriages are more stable.
Cohabitation even in the presence of children cannot be considered a
long term relationship. Researchers additionally hold on to the fact that
those who settle for cohabitation are running away from the duty of
band commitment (Walton). Instead, they are looking for ways to end
one relationship and jump to the next.
If the demerits of cohabitation were to be weighed against those of a
lawful marriage, they would definitely outweigh that of a marriage. This
can be closely linked to health effects that cohabitation presents. Glen
emphasizes that cohabitation is more likely to generate one or more of
the following health effects

3.  Increased rate of substance abuse
 High rate of emotional, physical and mental abuse
 Unstable relationships
 Violence amongst those cohabiting
 Increased rate of depression, suicide, homicide or death cases
triggered by violence
The family unit in the US has also been affected by work. Many families
in the states work for long hours to cater for their daily family needs.
Parents as a result, do not enjoy enough time together. Parents are
more like acquaintances to their kids because they do not spend a lot of
time with them. In the past 20 years, the number of people working for
long hours has increased (Newman).
It is also clear that those working for long hours are still very slow in the
earning bracket. Because of the fact that many people spend most of
their time at work, they additionally lose touch with their partners. As a
result, it is more likely for clandestine relationships to grow at place of
work leading to divorce in the end. Additionally, the idea of carrying
work to home poses great challenge to many families (Newman). In the
event of such, many parents fail to spend more time with their kids and
this is the reason as to why many marriages fail.
From research, it is also clear that the family life affects an individual’s
performance at work. Disrespecting for example at home increases the
rate of depression, anxiety and worry. Such feelings reduce a person’s
performance at place of work. Studies also reveal that “staff can be
distracted during work hours when they worry about how to handle
their family members’ negativity” (Newman). They also find it hard to
concentrate on work. What’s more, staff members may lose focus as
well as the ability to anticipate what they can do next.
The role of religion in marriage also cannot be underestimated.
Research studies indicate that many religious families in the country
experience the lowest divorce rate compared to non-religious ones.

4. The protestant church specifically allows a person to divorce with
special reasons or cases. (61) percent of Americans believe in church
despite the fact that they are not church goers.
The church often offers a solution to challenges that marriages present
almost on daily basis (Walton). The law in the country additionally
supports band and in equal measure, discourages marriages. On the
other hand, there are still tax laws including tax cuts and financial
benefits that are highly favorable for married couples. America on the
other hand compared to Italy has the shortest divorce waiting period.
Now, it is very clear that the marriage institution is on its deathbed. The
institution will soon be a thing of the past if nothing is done to address
the situation. It is additionally worrying to realize that there is no divine
intervention that has been of significant help to the institution. There is
also no doubt that the institution is a lifetime commitment hence,
normal for every person to be anxious when getting into it.
Even so, many Americans are anxious and do not prefer the entire idea
of getting married. Therefore, they prefer cohabitation, which is a
shortcut. Opinions are also divided on the issue of cohabitation.
Nonetheless, the number of those favoring cohabitation has over the
past years increased.
Personally, I believe that cohabitation is not good. Marriage should be
based on commitment and love. Therefore, people should start loving
unconditionally and be committed in their marriages. Besides work
family balance must always be created for the marriage to survive. A lot
of work affects the relationship of couples in marriage as well as that of
kids and their parents. An abrasive marriage on the other hand can
affect an individual’s work performance.
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6. Works Cited
Walton, Alice. The Marriage Problem: Why Many Are Choosing
Cohabitation Instead. Feb 7,
2012 Web, Feb 5, 2014. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/
Donovan, Chuck. A Marshall Plan for Marriage: Rebuilding Our
Shattered Homes. June 7, 2011
Web, February 5, 2014. Retrieved from http://www.heritage.org/
Glen, Stanton. Young Adults Consistently Express Marriage and Family
as Important Life Goal
August 2009 Web February 5, 2014 http://www.focusonthefamily.com
Newman, Jennifer. Abrasive family can affect your job
performance. November 2013 Web
February 16, 2014 http://www.vancouversun.com
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