Marriage and Cohabitation

Question 1

overview of trends in marriage and cohabitation

Answer 1

 There has been a long term decline in marriage
 People are more likely to cohabit (although in most cases this is a step before marriage)
 People are marrying later
 The number of remarriages has increased.
 Couples are less likely to marry in church
 There is a greater diversity of marriages (greater ethnic diversity and civil partnerships)
 There has been a very recent increase in the marriage rate.

Question 2

marriage remains an important institution because

Answer 2

• Most households are still headed by a married couple
• Couples may cohabit, but this is normally before getting married – they just get married
  later
• Most people still think marriage is the ideal type of relationship
• The fact that remarriages have increased show that people still value the institution of
  marriage.

Question 3

explain the long term decrease in marriage

Answer 3

Economic Factors – The increasing cost of living and the increasing cost of weddings.
Increasing property prices in recent years may be one of the factors why couples choose to get
married later in life.

Changing gender roles
Liberal Feminists point to changing gender roles as one of the main reasons why couples get
married later. More than half of the workforce is now female which means that most women do not
have to get married in order to be financially secure.

Question 4

how would the New Right explain the decline

Answer 4

The New Right
Blame the decline of marriage on moral decline – part of the broader breakdown of social
institutions and due to too much acceptance of diversity. This results in the inability of people to
commit to each other, and they see this as bad for society and the socialisation of the next
generation.

Question 5

how would post modernists explain the decline

Answer 5

Postmodernists explain the decline in marriage as a result of the move to postmodern consumer
society characterised by greater individual choice and freedom. We are used to being consumers
and picking and choosing, and so marriage is now a matter of individual choice.
Another process associated with Postmodernisation is the decline of tradition and religion
(secularisation) – as a result there is less social stigma attached to cohabiting or remarrying after a
divorce.