Marriage rates in England and Wales have fallen for a fourth year to reach their lowest level since records began.
A total of 232,990 couples wed in 2008, down 1% on the year before, Office for National Statistics figures showed.
For every 1,000 adult men, 21.8 married in 2008, compared with 22.4 in 2007. For women aged over 16 it was 19.6 per 1,000, down from 20.2 the year before.
The Church of England said marriage was now seen as the crown of a relationship rather than a gateway to adulthood.
[blockquote]Vice-chairman David Allison said: “The majority of people don’t understand that living together does not give them any financial protection should the relationship end.” [/blockquote]
If divorce in the UK is anything like it is here in the US, what people DO understand is that it will cause incredible financial and emotional
turmoil if the marriage goes horribly and the couple needs to divorce. That far outweighs the financial benefits of tying the knot.
Re #1: A lot of Brits would apparently agree with you. Americans should perhaps be aware that Europeans have a rather different approach to marriage, parenthood, and divorce. A Scandinavian child born to an unmarried couple is actually more likely to grow up to 18 in a two-parent household than an American child born to a [i]married[/i] couple. Europeans tend to regard both marriage and parenthood as more of a commitment than a personal right.