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

RELIGIONS NEWS AGENCY (REDNA) – Members of U.S. religious faiths are more concerned about a drop in marriage rates than birth rates, a Pew Research study found.

Washington times reported evangelical Protestants are the largest group to say a decline in marriage “will have a negative impact on the future of our country,” with 55% agreeing, the Pew survey revealed. Also agreeing were 42% of mainline Protestants and 37% of Catholics. Thirty-four percent of historically Black Protestants saw decline in marriage as a problem, while 20% of the religiously unaffiliated saw it as a negative.

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

Relatively small percentages said a drop in marriage numbers was a plus for society, with 9% overall agreeing. The religiously unaffiliated, at 13%, and historically Black Protestants, at 14%, had the highest percentage saying the drop was an advantage. Others were in the single digits: Evangelicals at 4%, Catholics at 6% and mainline Protestants at 7%.

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 they believed a lower birth rate was a problem.