The Decline of Marriage of Europe
Marriage is in decline across much of northern Europe, from Scandinavia to France, a pattern some sociologists describe as a “soft revolution” in European society — a generational shift away from Old World traditions and institutions toward a greater emphasis on personal independence.But French couples are abandoning the formality of marriage faster than most of their European neighbors and far more rapidly than their American counterparts
The increase in out-of-wedlock birthrates is even more dramatic: Last year, 59 percent of all first-born French children were born to unwed parents, most by choice, not chance. The numbers were not driven by single mothers, teenage mothers or poor mothers, but by couples from all social and economic backgrounds who chose parenthood without marriage vows.
RSS feed
