Family and Marriage

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.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Family and Religion Policy in 2012 Elections Family and Religion Policy in 2012 Elections

    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.

  • Visit the New FamilyFacts.org Visit the New FamilyFacts.org

    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.

  • Welfare Reform The Next Steps Welfare Reform The Next Steps

    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 Book of Charts Marriage Book of Charts

    Marriage: America's greatest weapon against child poverty. A Heritage Foundation book of charts. Read More.

Our Research & Offerings on Family and Marriage
  • Commentary posted May 1, 2012 by Ryan Messmore, D.Phil. Seeking the Welfare of the City

    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…

  • Commentary posted April 25, 2012 by Jennifer Marshall Homemakers in an Age of Feminist Mystique

    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…

  • Commentary posted April 6, 2012 by Jennifer Marshall Earthly Sports and Eternal Truths at Easter

    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…

  • Backgrounder posted March 29, 2012 by David Muhlhausen, Ph.D., Christina Villegas Violence Against Women Act: Reauthorization Fundamentally Flawed

    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…

  • Commentary posted February 22, 2012 by Jennifer Marshall Unwed Childbearing is the ‘New Normal’? Depends on Where You Stand

    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…

  • Commentary posted February 13, 2012 by Jennifer Marshall ‘Women’s Health’ Warriors Pick Wrong Fight

    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…

  • Commentary posted February 11, 2012 by Jennifer Marshall, Edmund Haislmaier Nothing but Squid Ink: Rules Unchanged on Anti-Conscience Mandate

    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,…

  • Commentary posted January 18, 2012 by Jennifer Marshall, Sarah Torre Why Do Feminists Ignore Gendercide?

    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…

  • Commentary posted January 11, 2012 by Jennifer Marshall Politics at the Dinner Table

    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…

  • Commentary posted December 11, 2011 by Robert Rector, Rachel Sheffield Poor or Not? Marriage Makes the Difference

    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…

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  • Backgrounder posted October 22, 2009 by Thomas Messner The Price of Prop 8

    Abstract: Supporters of Proposition 8 in California have been subjected to harassment, intimidation, vandalism, racial scapegoating, blacklisting, loss of employment, economic hardships, angry protests, violence, at least one death threat, and gross expressions of anti-religious bigotry. Arguments for same-sex marriage are based fundamentally on the idea that limiting marriage to…

  • Backgrounder posted January 25, 1996 by Patrick Fagan, Ph.D. Why Religion Matters: The Impact of Religious Practice on Social Stability

    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…

  • Backgrounder posted June 5, 2000 by Patrick Fagan, Ph.D., Robert Rector The Effects of Divorce on America

    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…

  • Backgrounder posted September 16, 2010 by Robert Rector Marriage: America’s Greatest Weapon Against Child Poverty

    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…

  • Report on August 17, 2010 Solutions for America: The Unsustainable Growth of Welfare

    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…

  • Backgrounder posted April 8, 2002 by Robert Rector The Effectiveness of Abstinence Education Programs in Reducing Sexual Activity Among Youth

    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…

  • Backgrounder posted May 15, 1997 by Patrick Fagan, Ph.D. The Child Abuse Crisis: The Disintegration of Marriage, Family, and the American Community

    Introduction Far too many children are badly abused in the United States today. This disturbing fact--driven home by shocking stories on nightly television broadcasts--appears also in professional literature as analysts try to understand the causes of this problem and find a remedy for it. The…

  • Backgrounder posted September 22, 2008 by Christine Kim Academic Success Begins at Home: How Children Can Succeed in School

    American taxpayers invest heavily in education. Last year, spending on public K–12 education totaled $553 billion, about 4 percent of gross domestic prod­uct (GDP) in 2006.[1] For each child enrolled in a pub­lic elementary or secondary school, expenditures averaged $9,266 that year—an increase of 128 per­cent, adjusted…

  • Backgrounder posted June 11, 1999 by Patrick Fagan, Ph.D. How Broken Families Rob Children of Their Chances for Future Prosperity

    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…

  • Backgrounder posted January 14, 2004 by Melissa Pardue, Robert Rector, Shannan Martin Government Spends $12 on Safe Sex and Contraceptives for Every $1 Spent on Abstinence

    Early this year, Congress will work to renew welfare reform by reauthorizing the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. As part of this process, Congress will also seek to reauthorize the Title V abstinence education program that was created, along with TANF, in the original 1996 welfare reform act, the Personal…

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  • Backgrounder posted March 29, 2012 by David Muhlhausen, Ph.D., Christina Villegas Violence Against Women Act: Reauthorization Fundamentally Flawed

    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…

  • Backgrounder posted July 29, 2011 by Thomas Messner Same-Sex Marriage and Threats to Religious Freedom: How Nondiscrimination Laws Factor In

    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…

  • Backgrounder posted July 18, 2011 by David Muhlhausen, Ph.D. Evaluating Federal Social Programs: Finding Out What Works and What Does Not

    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…

  • WebMemo posted June 28, 2011 by Chuck Donovan Five Impacts of the New York Same-Sex Marriage Vote

    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.…

  • Backgrounder posted June 7, 2011 by Chuck Donovan A Marshall Plan for Marriage: Rebuilding Our Shattered Homes

    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…

  • WebMemo posted May 6, 2011 by Chuck Donovan Winning DOMA on the Merits of Marriage

    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…

  • Backgrounder posted March 25, 2011 by Thomas Atwood Foster Care: Safety Net or Trap Door?

    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…

  • Backgrounder posted September 16, 2010 by Robert Rector Marriage: America’s Greatest Weapon Against Child Poverty

    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…

  • Report on August 17, 2010 Solutions for America: The Unsustainable Growth of Welfare

    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…

  • Backgrounder posted July 20, 2010 by Thomas Messner Religion and Morality in the Same-Sex Marriage Debate

    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…

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Find more work on Family and Marriage