January 17, 2007

If you’re looking for more examples of how rapidly our culture is changing from what it was when we were children, here it is.

The U.S. Census Bureau has found that 51 percent of women have no spouse in their home. 51 percent!

That’s up from 35 percent without a male spouse in the home in 1950 and 40 percent in 2000.

Coupled with the fact that last year for the first time, married couples became a minority of all American households and you have a trend that could eventually shape social and workplace policies, including the ways government and employers distribute benefits.

Some of the 51 percent of women living without a spouse are single, or co-habiting, or homosexual, or widows, but the trend is disturbing for the future of nuclear family life in America – the best unit in which to raise children. For years, conservative and Christian groups have labored to shore up the nuclear family. Clearly it hasn’t worked. Perhaps we should focus more on our own families to make sure we who are married stay together.

Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C.