‘Shocking’ Split on Marriage: Conservatives and Liberals Feel Very Differently About This

A recent study as noted by the Institute for Family Studies (IFS) finds there is a shocking difference between conservatives and liberals when it comes to the topic of marriage.

Comments about the results of the American Family Survey conducted by YouGov were shared with LifeZette in a release on Monday.

Southern Evangelical Seminary President Dr. Richard Land, a noted faith leader, addressed the survey results during two recent episodes of his daily radio feature, “Bringing Every Thought Captive,” heard on some 800 stations in the U.S.

“This study found a yawning gap between self-identifying conservatives and self-identified liberals when it comes to marriage,” Land noted.

“In fact, 62 percent of conservatives are married, compared with 39 percent of liberals and 46 percent of moderates,” he said. “And conservatives are far more likely to be married even when you control for relevant factors like age.”

He added, “An article by Washington Post columnist Megan McArdle pointed this out. For example, in the last presidential election, Democrat Hillary Clinton carried single women by 31 points over Republican Donald Trump. She carried married women by just 2 points, and Donald Trump actually carried married women with children by a slight margin.”

“What the IFS study shows is that conservatives value marriage more than moderates,” Land continued. “Indeed, the study found that conservatives — 80 percent of them — say marriage is needed to create strong families. Among liberals, that figure is only 33 percent, and conservatives are much more likely to say that they are satisfied with their own family life — 52 percent — compared with liberals and moderates who say 41 percent are satisfied with their family lives.”

Land also said that studies have repeatedly confirmed married people live longer, are happier and have more prosperous lives.

This is especially clear when it comes to children, the study indicated.

“No government subsidy program can substitute for the benefits of having two adults, not just one, focus their attention and resources on a child’s needs,” Land also said, in comments shared with LifeZette.

“Conservatives are right that marriage is important — and when society loses that perspective, it’s very dangerous for the citizens. Marriage is and always has been incredibly important to both individual and societal health. When a society rejects that truth or ignores it, it has serious negative consequences for that society, especially for its children.”

“The greatest single advantage a child can have in America today,” he also said, “is to be raised in an intact, two-parent family with a mom and a dad who care for and nurture that child. Such children are much more likely to finish high school, not get involved with drugs, not have a child out of wedlock, not be physically or sexually abused, finish college, get married and stay married than children who are not raised in such a nurturing environment.”

All of that is pretty remarkable.

“When 40 percent of our children are born out of wedlock and half of our children have lost their father in the home by the age of 6, isn’t it time to revalue marriage — God’s institution for human health and flourishing?” asked Land.

Related: The Leading Cause of Death in the U.S. Will Shock You

Students explore Christian apologetics, how it applies to practical daily life, and how to rationally, intelligently and lovingly defend the historic Christian faith as part of the SES curriculum.

Students also debate news and commentary through its “Philosophy, Politics and Economics” program, the organization noted.

Offered primarily at a few top-tier universities around the world, the SES program introduces students to a Christian perspective of how philosophy, politics and economics intersect, focusing on the works of Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich Hayek, Henry Hazlitt, Karl Marx, Thomas Aquinas, Robert Sirico, Jay Richards and others.

SES just had its 26th annual National Conference on Christian Apologetics, which included 1,800 attendees from around the country and more than 45 speakers.

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