Culture

Culture Highlights

• While the marriage rate ticked up slightly between 2013 and 2014, it has been trending downward for decades. Between 2004 and 2014, the marriage rate dropped by 8.3 marriages per 1,000 unmarried women, or nearly 20 percent. “[T]he declining marriage rate is not so much a reflection that marriage is no longer desired, but that, in a culture of distrust and divorce, it is fragile,” write Amber and David Lapp.
• The divorce rate saw a minor drop during the decade between 2004 and 2014, but it has been declining since it peaked in the 1980s. “From 1979 to 2014, the divorce rate dropped from 5.3 per 1,000 to 3.2 per 1,000, a whopping 40 percent decrease. But there is more to the story, and it should make us cautious in our celebration,” explains Julie Baumgardner.
• From 2005 to 2015, the percentage of 12th graders who use illicit drugs increased from 23.1 percent to 23.6 percent. “We didn’t lose the drug war…we gave up on it. Now, particularly in the teen population, drug use is going up again,” writes Seth Leibsohn.
• The abortion rate has declined steadily. Between 2001 and 2011, the abortion rate declined by four abortions per 1,000 women of childbearing age. “The factors underlying this decline and the contemporaneous reduction in the number of abortion clinics are multifaceted but encouraging to those who hope to see human life respected,” writes Randall Wenger.

Culture Indicators & Commentary

• Marriage Rate
  With commentary by Amber and David Lapp: “A Generation in Conflict about Marriage”
• Divorce Rate
  With commentary by Julie Baumgardner: “Divorce in Our Nation”
• Total Fertility Rate
  With commentary by Mollie Ziegler Hemingway: “Having Children Helps — Not Hurts — Our Future”
• Single-Parent Households
  With commentary by Eric Cochling: “Reinvigorating Family Life: Critical to Restoring Opportunity”
• Teen Drug Use
  With commentary by Seth Leibsohn: “Teen Drug Use: Cultural Amnesia, Current Harm”
• Abstinence Among High Schoolers
  With commentary by Caitlin La Ruffa: “Responding to the Sexual Revolution with Love and Fidelity”
• Abortion Rate
  With commentary by Randall Wenger: “Pro-Life Convictions, Lower Demand for Abortions”
• Religious Attendance
  With commentary by Daniel Mark, “Religiosity and the Future of Freedom”
• Volunteering
  With commentary by Brian Fikkert, “Improving the Quantity and Quality of America’s Volunteerism”
• Violent Crime Rate
  With commentary by Ken Blackwell, “Families, Churches, and Crime Prevention”

Next Up in the Culture Section:

Culture and the Challenge of Self-Government

2016 Index of Culture and Opportunity

MAIN SECTIONS:
- Culture
- Poverty & Dependence
- General Opportunity

ABOUT:
- Preface by Jim DeMint
- Executive Summary
- Introduction by Michael Novak

Download the Index in PDF

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