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University of Virginia sociologist Brad Wilcox *01 delves into some of the popular wisdom surrounding marriage and tells us what the data has to say: is it better to marry young or wait? To move in with your partner before or after marriage? Does marriage hurt your career prospects or your ability to set aside time for your own happiness? What groups in America are doing well with regards to marriage, and what groups aren’t doing as well? Along the way, he also addresses some of the political implications of marriage, including how and why marriage trends differ by class and how our tax code often penalizes marriage.
Brad Wilcox is studies marriage, fatherhood, and the impact of strong families. He is a professor of Sociology at the University of Virignia where he also directs the National Marriage Project. He is also a Future of Freedom Fellow at the Institute for Family Studies, and a nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. He is the recent author of Get Married: Why Americans Should Defy the Elites, Forge Strong Families and Save Civilization (Broadside Books, 2024). He received his PhD in Sociology from Princeton in 2001, and is the author of six books. His writing has also been featured in publications including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Atlantic, National Review, First Things, and The Free Press.
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For younger Millennials and Generation Z, the dating culture is broken even within conservative and religious communities, so I expect the marriage rate within these groups to drop like a stone in the near future. Middle-aged academics like Brad Wilcox don’t yet realize the extent of the crisis, but give it ten years!
For every one American between the ages of 20 and 35 who marries, there are about eight others who want to marry and can’t find anyone. It would be nice if someone with reach and influence focused on this problem rather than wasting time trying to convert the anti-marriage left.