World Family Policy Center Newsletter

W. Bradford Wilcox

Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Virginia Member of the James Madison Society, Princeton University.

Is Religion an Answer? Marriage, Fatherhood, and the Male Problematic (Research Brief)

One of the most important consequences of the family revolution of the last half-century—a revolution marked by dramatic increases in divorce, nonmarital childbearing, and cohabitation—is that ever larger numbers of men are becoming disconnected from family life. From New York to New Orleans, from San Francisco to Seattle, more and more men in the United States are living apart from the children they helped to bring into this world. This growing disconnect between men and families has been aptly called the “male problematic” by University of Chicago theologian Don Browning.

What is Browning getting at? Drawing upon work done in evolutionary psychology, Browning observes that, biologically speaking, fathers have a fairly weak tie to their children, especially in comparison to mothers. From the start, pregnancy, lactation, and the hormone oxytocin typically bind mothers to their children in ways that fathers do not experience. Partly as a consequence, fathers around the world are more likely to live apart from their children and to invest less in their children than mothers. Most societies have sought to strengthen men’s connection to the family by championing the marital vow and by providing men with a unique role in the family. But a variety of factors have conspired in the modern world to distance men from family life: the breakdown of marriage, declining real wages for men, the sexual revolution, and the rise of expressive individualism. In Browning’s words, modernity threatens “to loosen further the already archaic and fragile tie of males to offspring and their offspring’s mothers.”

How is the male problematic visible in contemporary American life? At the level of family structure, a growing number of mothers and children live in households without residential fathers; likewise a growing number of fathers live apart from households with children and therefore spend little if any time on child rearing and family-related housework. The percentage of children living in father-absent homes rose from 11 percent in 1960 to 27 percent in 2000. In addition, over the course of their lives, more than half of all children will live apart from their fathers—either because of divorce or nonmarital childbearing. One study found that approximately 60 percent of children in fatherless families saw their fathers once a month or less.

Increases in cohabitation are no remedy to the male problematic. Men living in cohabiting unions are unlikely to stick around and develop abiding ties to their children, because cohabiting unions are much less likely than marriages to endure. One study found that a child born to a cohabiting couple had a 50 percent risk that her parents would part in her first five years of life; by contrast, a child born to a married couple had only a 15 percent risk that her parents would part in her first five years.

Scholars, policymakers, and civic and religious leaders concerned about the rise of the male problematic in modern America have speculated that religion in the United States may offer at least a partial answer to the male problematic. Browning has argued that one of the historic achievements of Judaism and Christianity is that they succeeded to an important degree in integrating men into families and the lives of their wives and children. This leaves us with an empirical question: Is there any evidence that religion is playing a role in encouraging a strong family orientation among contemporary American men? More specifically, how are religious tradition and attendance linked to marital quality and stability, nonmarital childbearing, and paternal involvement and affection—all key indicators that tap the degree to which men are investing in their families? To answer these questions, I analyzed data taken from three nationally representative surveys: the General Social Survey (GSS), the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH), and the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG)…

…Notwithstanding recent reports to the contrary, religious Americans enjoy happier and more stable marriages than their peers who are secular or only nominally affiliated with a religious tradition. My analysis of the GSS (2000–2006) indicates that both married men and women aged 18 to 55 who attend religious services regularly (several times a month or more) have happier marriages—though the influence of churchgoing appears to be markedly stronger for married men. For men, 70 percent of husbands who attend church regularly report they are “very happy” in their marriages, compared to 59 percent of husbands who rarely or never attend church. For women, 59 percent of wives who attend church regularly report they are “very happy” in their marriages, compared to 57 percent of wives who rarely or never attend church. One reason that the effect of churchgoing seems weaker for wives is that they are more likely to attend church without their husbands; such solo attendance does not appear to benefit women’s marriages. My analysis of the 1992–1994 wave of the NSFH indicates that churchgoing was only associated with marital happiness for women when they attended church with their husbands. In addition, a study of urban relationships found that men’s religious attendance was a better predictor of women’s relationship satisfaction than women’s own religious attendance. Taken together, this research suggests that not only do churchgoing husbands enjoy happier marriages but also that their wives are more likely to experience marital happiness, compared to married couples where husbands do not attend religious services on a regular basis.

The above research brief comes from The Center for Marriage and Families, based at the Institute for American Values. It was published in March 2008. Copies of the brief, as well as of the full research, can be printed from the Center’s website at http://center.americanvalues.org.

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FEATURED NEWS ARTICLES

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Editor’s Note: The following excerpts are taken from the week’s news around the world all relating to family and family policy. By clicking on the following links, you may read the entire article from its source. Our intent is to help our readers remain current on the state of the family in the world today. The positions taken and choice of wording and advocacy belong to the authors of the articles; inclusion here does not imply endorsement by the World Family Policy Center.

1. Federal Marriage Amendment Reintroduced in Senate

CitizenLink

July 1, 2008

Following the California Supreme Court's decision to legislate from the bench, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., has reintroduced a constitutional amendment in the Senate to protect marriage from redefinition by state and federal judges.

The Senate amendment states: "Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman." It mirrors House legislation sponsored by Rep. Paul Broun, R-Ga.

“Invariably, couples from that state will now move to states like Mississippi, or the other states that have prohibitions on same-sex ‘marriage,’ ” Wicker said, “and they will ask that those 'marriages' be recognized.”

Tom McClusky, vice president for government affairs at the Family Research Council, said amending the Constitution would be best for kids, who are the real victims of same-sex “marriages.”

To view the entire article, visit http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000007742.cfm

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2. Internet Addresses Now Can End with '.XXX' or '.SEX'

CitizenLink

June 27, 2008

Businesses now can choose the suffix for their Internet addresses after a decision Thursday to expand the choices beyond current staples such as ".com", ".co" and ".org," The Financial Times reported.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) expanded the online naming system over prolonged objections by family advocates who say suffixes such as ".xxx" and ".sex" will only make the Internet worse.

"We're going to further normalize pornography and obscenity," said Daniel Weiss, senior analyst for media and sexuality at Focus on the Family Action. "People are going to be further desensitized to its negative emotional and relational effects.

"I think ICANN has opened a Pandora's Box in this decision."

Applications will be accepted next year, with new domain names costing at least $100,000.

To view the entire article, visit http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000007716.cfm

The iPhone's Next Frontier: Porn

Time

June 18, 2008

Apple may be golden because of the iPhone, but the soon-to-be-updated device is also increasingly the source of forbidden fruit. Steve Jobs' company is keeping a civil, if embarrassed, silence on one of the potentially most lucrative and controversial uses of its handheld jewel: porn.

The technological feats of the 3G iPhone are key to the coming pornucopia. To date, mobile porn has consisted largely of still images, racy text services and "moan tones," which are sultry-sounding ringtones. In Europe there is an active market for video chatting; customers pay on average $50 a month to exchange dirty messages with actresses. But now, thanks in large part to the iPhone's video dexterity, short clips are becoming a staple of the mobile porn business. The speed promised by the iPhone 2.0 is much anticipated. Google Trends, which measures Web buzz, shows a sharp increase over the past year in the popularity of the term "iPhone porn."

Leading porn purveyors see the iPhone as a dream come true. Its relatively ample screen size, speedy Web access and ease of use are just part of it. The device's miniaturized version of Apple's Safari software simplifies mobile access and streamlines the process of tailoring dirty sites for optimal viewing on the go. "It's by far the porn-friendliest phone," says Devan Cypher, representative for San Francisco–based Sin City Entertainment. As evidence of the gadget's rocketing popularity in California's porn capital, the San Fernando Valley, numerous iPhone-specific porn sites have been launched in recent months. "There are a few hundred iPhone porn sites now in use," says Farley Cahen, vice president of business development for AVN Media Network, the adult industry's trade body. Many others are currently in the works targeting the iPhone 2.0, which goes on sale July 11.

To view the entire article, visit http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1815933,00.html

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3. Romania to Allow 11-Year-Old Alleged Rape Victim to Have Late Abortion

FoxNews

June 27, 2008

Ignoring pressure from a number of religious groups, a government committee ruled Friday that the girl could have an abortion in Romania even though her 21-week pregnancy is beyond the 14-week limit set by law. Abortions can only be carried out later than 14 weeks in Romania to save the life of the mother.

But the family said they would still travel to Britain for the termination.

"We are determined to go to Britain....there's nothing that can be done here...in Romania," the girl's father was quoted as telling state news agency Rompres after the ruling. "On Tuesday we're going and that is our final decision."

A Romanian in Britain has offered to finance the trip and the family has already bought flight tickets.

In Britain, an abortion is legal up to 24 weeks if two doctors decide that the risk to a woman's physical or mental health will be greater if she continues with the pregnancy than if she ends it.

"'I want to go to school and to play. If I can't do this my life will be a nightmare,"' said a letter from the girl, read out Friday by health ministry official and committee member Vlad Iliescu.

"The girl's mental health would be severely affected if she had a baby," Iliescu said.

To view the entire article, visit http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,372621,00.html

Professor Says Women Use Birth Control Pill Wrong, Resulting in Abortions

LifeNews.com

June 26, 2008

London, England -- A Princeton University says women are not using birth control pills correctly and the misuse is resulting in pregnancies and abortions that wouldn't otherwise occur. Professor James Trussell made the claim before a conference sponsored by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service abortion business.

Trussell says about 8 percent of women who use the birth control pill become pregnant annually and get abortions because they don't take the pills faithfully.

He also said the morning after pill is not effective in reducing pregnancies and abortions because it is not used widely enough.

According to a London Times report, Trussell said women should be encouraged to use implants or intrauterine devices (IUDs) that don't rely on women remembering to take a pill to prevent pregnancy.

“The Pill is an outdated method because it does not work well enough. It is very difficult for ordinary women to take a pill every single day," the Princeton professor said, according to the Times.

"The beauty of the implant or the IUD is that you can forget about them," he added.

Trussell said if seven percent of British women switched to an IUD he thinks there will be 73,000 fewer unintended pregnancies and fewer abortions as well.

However, pro-life advocates have criticized the use of those devices, as they have the morning after pill, because it can cause abortions in some circumstances by preventing the unborn child from implanting into the mother's uterus to continue growing and developing.

To view the entire article, visit http://www.lifenews.com/int806.html

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4. Human-pig hybrid embryos given go ahead

Telegraph (United Kingdom)

July 1, 2008

A license to create human-pig embryos to study heart disease has been issued by the fertility watchdog.

This marks the third animal-human hybrid embryo license to be issued by Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority and the first since the Commons voted in favor of this controversial research last month.

An HFEA spokesman said it had approved an application from the Clinical Sciences Research Institute, University of Warwick, for the creation of hybrid embryos. The centre has been offered a 12 month license with effect from today, July 1.

The effort at the University of Warwick is led by Professor Justin St John. "This new license allows us to attempt to make human pig clones to produce embryonic stem cells," he said, where embryonic stem cells are able to turn into the 200 plus types in the body.

"We will take skin cells from patients who have a mutation for certain kinds of heart disease (cardiomyopathy, which makes the heart lose its pumping strength) and put them into pig eggs after their chromosomes have been removed. We will then make embryos so that we can attempt to derive embryonic stem cells which will allow us to study some of the molecular mechanisms associated with these heart diseases.”

To view the entire article, visit http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/earth/2008/07/01/sciembryo101.xml

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5. Adult Stem Cells Treat Lung Disease

CitizenLink

June 25, 2008

Two Canadians have been injected with a genetically modified version of their own adult stem cells in an attempt to cure pulmonary hypertension, a rare, debilitating lung disease.

The procedure, which has successfully cured rats with pulmonary hypertension, has halted the progress of the disease in the patients. The first patient, who has had the disease for 13 years, is reporting no ill effects from the treatment and has seen her condition improve.

Researchers are hopeful that the treatment eventually will reverse or even cure the disease.

"The use of ethical stem cells to treat disease is a positive and growing trend around the world,” Dawn Vargo, bioethics analyst of Focus on the Family Action, said. “There are an ever-growing number of rare diseases that are successfully being treated with adult stem cells."

To view the entire article, visit http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000007692.cfm

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6. Spanish lawmakers boost rights for apes

MSNBC

June 25, 2008

MADRID, Spain - The Spanish parliament voiced its support on Wednesday for the rights of great apes to life and freedom in what will apparently be the first time any national legislature has called for such rights for nonhumans.

Parliament's environmental committee approved resolutions urging Spain to comply with the Great Apes Project, devised by scientists and philosophers who say our closest genetic relatives deserve rights hitherto limited to humans.

"This is a historic day in the struggle for animal rights and in defense of our evolutionary comrades, which will doubtless go down in the history of humanity," said Pedro Pozas, Spanish director of the Great Ape Project.

Spain may be better known abroad for bull-fighting than animal rights but the new measures are the latest move turning once-conservative Spain into a liberal trailblazer.

To view the entire article, visit http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25379407/

~ John C. Maxwell