At the heart of every political debate are three questions: Are people flourishing? Are they safe? And do they have jobs where they’re able to provide for themselves and their loved ones? Also, not at the heart of every political debate is the question: what role do families play in a flourishing society? After all, family is too often taken for granted by our political leaders and its sociological implications are too often overlooked. Perhaps this is because postmodernism demoted marriage and family formation from its primacy.
There are certainly politics behind the issues that impact families. However, marriage and the family are pre-political institutions. Hence, the goods both institutions bring to individuals and society shouldn’t be partisan but should be supported across the political spectrum. The question is how to do it.
Congress’s recent contentious debate over the “One Big Beautiful Bill” (OBBB) centered around reforming federal programs for the poor, particularly the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and Medicaid—both intended to be safety nets for the most vulnerable. Proponents of the OBBB argued that government subsidies have become a way of life for able-bodied people of working age. This is why they implemented work and education requirements. Reformers also argued that such programs have become a snare for too many—keeping recipients impoverished and dependent. Many Medicaid recipients desiring to move up will tell you they fear losing health insurance because making too much money drives them over the “benefits cliff” where they’ll lose coverage.
Reforming government programs for struggling citizens like single moms gets one labeled as heartless and cruel. But where’s the discussion over the unintended consequences that subtly discourage marriage and family formation? Both are integral to personal and societal health. Bolstering marriage as a matter of public policy will arguably lead to better health, success, and happiness and therefore less dependence on government support.
Sociological studies show that marriage is good for both parents and children. Yet some continue to downplay family background as integral to a child’s success in life. Consider, for example, educational outcomes. The Institute for Family Studies finds that “two national household surveys of parents conducted nearly a quarter of a century apart reveal that marital stability, parent education, family income, and race and ethnicity, are as important as ever—or even more so” to student success. Intact, married two-parenthood households are irreplaceable. Yet marriage rates are falling.
At least 50 percent of the marriage equation is young men. And the statistics do not paint a healthy and thriving picture. Too many post-high school men aren’t going to college, pursuing marriage, and too many are dropping out from the workforce. They are failing to form new families and raise children. Which leads to a very real spectre of demographic decline. The U.S. has dipped well below replacement levels.
The Institute for Family Studies records that many blame these sociological shifts for males on larger shifts in our “economy, schools that don’t do a good job of serving our boys, or technology that distracts adolescent males from real life.” Each of these factors have merit, but it also overlooks a far more significant factor: whether or not a boy grew up with a functional, married household with his father.
Another thing young men are missing out on is parenthood and the good it brings into their lives. Yet, there’s a paradox in parenthood. There is loss of sleep, carting kids to ball games and dance practices, enduring the terrible twos and temperamental adolescents. Parenting can be hard. But the self-giving nature and practice of parenthood shapes one’s soul for the better—and it comes through the crucible of parenting where patience, endurance, and love grow. Parenthood is the petri dish where souls are enlarged, beauty cultivated, and memories are made.
Marriage and family life can be hard—painful even—but adding to the challenge is a post-modern society and its untethering of community and family life. Yet post-modernism cannot explain away the desire that most have for a life partner, and the desire for children. Nor can it undo the ideal of marriage and family as a prerequisite to a flourishing and free society. This is something governments can acknowledge and incentive, but ultimately cannot speak into at a heart level. This is the role of religious institutions.
The church has historically taught the importance of family and parenthood. It’s in-line with the self-giving nature of Christianity: God has given us life so we give life within the context of marriage; God has called us into a family so married spouses join together to create a family. And if our society is to flourish once again, family renewal must be the focus of its attention.
CPC is hosting a conference on The Family and Cultural Renewal Conference in Louisville on September 16th — an evening dedicated to helping Kentuckians think deeply about the primacy of marriage and family as foundational to cultural renewal. Attendance is free, just register at Commonwealthpolicycenter.org. Richard Nelson is available for interviews regarding this topic.