Post-marriage America

According to a Pew Social Trends poll
released today, almost 40 percent of Americans think that marriage is on its
way to becoming obsolete in American society. The number includes both people
who are indifferent to the end of marriage and those who are sorry to see it
go.

The poll reveals that marriage is becoming (perhaps once
again?) an institution for the elite, with marriage rates highest for college
graduates with substantially higher earnings than anyone else. At the same
time, three-quarters of American adults say that their families were the "most
important element of their lives," and essentially the same percentage report
satisfaction with their current family life.

It's not clear how to evaluate these findings. That
definitions of families and marriage continue to change and have changed
throughout history should surprise no one. What do you think? Will marriage
become obsolete? What effect would that have on churches and communities? Is
this trend a reason to mourn or a reason to shrug one's shoulders and keep
going?