The family, centered on marriage, is the building block of society. When marriages and families are healthy, communities thrive and government is limited; when marriages break down, communities break down and government role expands. Research shows that good policy places marriage and the family at the center, working to promote and strengthen this long-established institution.
Issues 2012 provides candidates for elected office the ability to quickly identify the key issues of the day and present clear policy recommendations, supported by facts, for addressing them. Read More.
Check out the new improved FamilyFacts.org. A resource for charts and information on why the family is so important to a free and civil society. Read More.
In 1935, President Roosevelt (D) said: “Continued dependence upon relief induces a spiritual and moral disintegration fundamentally destructive to the national fibre. To dole out relief in this way is to administer a narcotic, a subtle destroyer of the human spirit.” Read More.
Marriage: America's greatest weapon against child poverty. A Heritage Foundation book of charts. Read More.
Conservatives are often portrayed as selfish scrooges who only care about their own bottom lines. But when it comes to truly meeting people’s needs, they’re the leaders of the pack. Star Parker knew poverty personally. As a…
Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen hit close to many American homes with her comment that Ann Romney, stay-at-home mother of five boys, "had never worked a day in her life." The broadside didn't just hit a presidential candidate's…
This year, March Madness ran right up to Holy Week in the Christian calendar. Millions of Americans who began the week watching NCAA basketball finals would head to church at the weekend to commemorate Good Friday and Easter. But religious institutions got quite a bit of attention…
Abstract: Despite the fact that each state has statutes that punish domestic violence, the federal government intervened in 1994 with the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The Senate is now expected to consider the newest reauthorization of the act—S. 1925—which includes radical changes that…
Unwed childbearing is the “new normal” for women under 30, reports the New York Times. A study from the research organization Child Trends reveals that 53 percent of births to women in this age group now occur outside marriage. However, this…
Politics should never come between a woman and her health care,” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., declared on the Senate floor one recent afternoon. Senate colleagues as well as media pundits joined the chorus defending “women’s health” from being “politicized.” The implication is that some people are trivializing a critical matter…
Proponents of Obamacare’s anti-conscience mandate on preventive care kept telling critics to wait and see what the final rules held. As of Friday afternoon, we now know. It wasn’t worth the wait. If there was a question Friday morning whether the Obama administration might cede ground,…
You’d notice if 160 million women were missing from the U.S. population. You couldn’t help but notice, actually. There aren’t that many females in the whole country. Yet that’s how many girls have been lost in Asia to the practice of sex-selective…
The race is on. Presidential primary season started in Iowa on Jan. 3 and the electoral finish line isn’t until Nov. 6. The marathon will test the endurance not only of the candidates, but also of Americans subject to a media blitz.All the play-by-play commentary on…
Poverty and inequality in America are hot topics these days, and not just among the Occupy Wall Street crowd. Yet amid all the chatter, hardly anyone talks about the greatest driver of poverty: the rapidly rising number of babies born to unmarried mothers. Today, over 40 percent…
Introduction[1] By extolling freedom of religion in the schools, President Bill Clinton has raised the level of debate on the importance of religion to American life.[2] The time is ripe for a deeper dialogue on the contribution of religion to the welfare of the nation. America has always…
Each year, over 1 million American children suffer the divorce of their parents; moreover, half of the children born this year to parents who are married will see their parents divorce before they turn 18. Mounting evidence in social science journals demonstrates that the devastating physical, emotional, and financial…
THE ISSUE: Despite spending almost $16 trillion since the War on Poverty began in 1964, welfare programs have failed to reduce the causes of poverty, and instead have hurt many of the people they were intended to help. Poverty in…
Abstract: Child poverty is an ongoing national concern, but few are aware that its principal cause is the absence of married fathers in the home. Marriage remains America’s strongest anti-poverty weapon, yet it continues to decline. As husbands disappear from the home, poverty and…
Teenage sexual activity is a major problem confronting the nation and has led to a rising incidence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), emotional and psychological injuries, and out-of-wedlock childbearing. Abstinence education programs for youth have…
Much of the debate about the growing gap between rich and poor in America focuses on the changing job force, the cost of living, and the tax and regulatory structure that hamstrings businesses and employees. But analysis of the social science literature demonstrates that the root cause of poverty and income disparity is linked undeniably…
Families have good reason to be concerned about how the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) of 2010[1] will affect them. While the law will deliver a health insurance entitlement to millions of individuals and families, many of its provisions weaken family choice of coverage, undermine…
Testimony of Jill C. ManningBefore the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rightsand Property Rights Commitee on JudiciaryUnited States SenateNovember 9, 2005 Thank you Senator Brownback, Senator Feingold and distinguished members of the Sub-Committee;I…
I don't have to tell you that things are at a critical juncture in our country when it comes to violent crime. We find violence now running at intolerably high levels. The heyday of violent crime was actually in the 1960s and 1970s, and I will describe it in more detail later. It peaked…
The word "justice" is on everyone's lips nowadays, and may signify almost anything. We hear the cry "Peace and Justice!" from folk who would destroy existing societies with fire and sword. Other folk fancy that perfect justice might readily be obtained by certain financial rearrangements -- as if anything in this world ever could be…
Abstract: Proponents of religious freedom have firmly established that same-sex marriage threatens religious freedom in a number of ways. In response, some have argued that certain threats to religious freedom discussed in this context have more to do with nondiscrimination laws than with the…
Abstract: Federal social programs are rarely evaluated to determine whether they are actually accomplishing their intended purposes. As part of its obligation to spend taxpayers’ dollars wisely, Congress should mandate that experimental evaluations of every federal social program be conducted. The evaluations should be…
The New York legislature’s June 24 vote to redefine the family and recognize homosexual marriage will have a number of short-term and long-term impacts within and well beyond the Empire State.[1] The vote does not signal an end to the now two-decade fight over the meaning of marriage.…
Abstract: Marriage and family are declining in America, following a trend well established in Europe. This breakdown of the American family has dire implications for American society and the U.S. economy. Halting and reversing the sustained trends of nearly four decades will not happen…
If Olympic medals were handed out for hubris, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a gay activist group, would be the clear favorite for the gold. Its ruthless effort to deprive the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) a top-notch defense in federal court has collapsed at the starting block. But this…
Abstract: For tens of thousands of endangered children, foster care has become a trap door rather than the safety net they need to help them succeed. In particular, federal financing policies have favored foster care over other child welfare approaches, leading states to overuse…
Abstract : Some same-sex marriage activists might wish to exclude certain moral and religious viewpoints from the same-sex marriage debate. Evidence shows, however, that religion…
Marriage, these days, is getting bad press. For example, a string of recent headlines claim that living together is...…
As the nation celebrates a day honoring mothers, it’s a great time to recognize both the immediate and long-term...…
A new study in the Journal of Marriage and Family examines how single mothers’ religious participation may influence...…
The Administration for Children and Families, a division of the Department of Health and Human Services, is...…
Last week, Charles Murray of the American Enterprise Institute spoke to an audience at The Heritage Foundation about his...…
Recent headlines, heralding the findings of a new government study, claim that “living together before marriage no...…
Marriage is antiquated and on its ways out, and cohabitation is the relationship of the future, the relationally...…
Marriage is good for the heart—literally. Based on a new study out of Emory and Rutgers Universities, researchers find...…
Now heading for state number 12 after nearly two months on the road, The Heritage Foundation/Family Research Council...…
Should conservative leaders be talking about social issues? Do conservative positions on these issues still appeal to...…
Research Fellow
Policy Analyst
Director, Domestic Policy Studies
Senior Research Fellow