Social Scientist: Biblical Marriage Matters, Freedom Depends on the Family
by Mary Rettig
March 9, 2006
(AgapePress) - - A sociologist and writer says America cannot afford to say no to traditional marriage. Brad Wilcox, co-author of The Meaning of Marriage: Family, State, Market, and Morals (Spence Publishing, 2006), believes how U.S. society defines marriage can affect everything from the nation's economy to its citizens' individual rights.Wilcox, a sociologist from the University of Virginia, is encouraged to note that 19 U.S. states have adopted pro-traditional marriage amendments to their state constitutions, and nine more states will vote on similar issues this November. He says marriage relates to every aspect of a nation's life, whether social, economic, or political.
"We know that the success of marriage has a lot to do with how children turn out and has to do with things like criminal activity, teenage pregnancy and child poverty," Wilcox observes, "so if we're concerned about things like crime rates, teenage girls getting pregnant, and kids living in poverty, then we should be concerned about the health and the strength of marriage."
The sociology expert says strong families directly correspond to a strong economy, low crime, and low government interference. On the other hand, he asserts, weak families result in a weak economy, high crime, and other social problems that result in a welfare state and undermine a Republic form of government. Hence, failing to keep American families strong will be detrimental in several ways, he insists.
"Our liberties and our freedoms depend in a large part on our capacity to govern ourselves," Wilcox notes. "If people cannot govern themselves -- if families cannot govern themselves -- the government has to step in to take up the slack," he says.
"Our tradition in the United States has been to stress the limited character of government, the limited nature of government, and to really emphasize the importance of individual liberty and freedom," the author asserts. But as families break down, he continues, government grows and endangers America's representative form of government as well as the freedoms and opportunities that her citizens have come to associate with the American way of life.
That is why traditional marriage must be upheld, Wilcox insists. When marriages fail, the sociologist explains, people are more likely to fall into poverty, whether through divorce or illegitimacy. And when that happens, he says, the state often ends up having to pick up the tab through welfare programs, and American independence and liberty are undermined.
Mary Rettig, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
