21 Reasons to Get Married

Reason to get married #12

Married men are less likely to commit crimes. Living in an intact, married family decreases one's likelihood of becoming a criminal. Adults and youths raised in intact families are less likely to be picked up by police than those from non-intact families. Children from married families are less likely to commit major property crimes than those from single-parent families. Adolescents living in an intact, married family are less likely to steal than adolescents living in any other family structure. Adolescents from intact families are less delinquent and commit fewer violent acts of delinquency. And adolescents in an intact, married family are less likely to fight than adolescents in any other family structure.

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"Marriage is the foundational relationship for all of society," report Dougherty, Fagan and McElvain. "All other relationships in society stem from the father-mother relationship -- and these other relationships thrive most if that father-mother relationship is simultaneously a close and a closed husband-wife relationship. Good marriages are the bedrock of strong societies, for they are the foundations of strong families. One can see this strength manifested at the national and state level.

"The future of the human race and all its component societies is embodied in each newborn," write the authors. "Whether that newborn grows to be a strong, capable adult depends much on the marriage of his or her parents. Whether he is physically strong; whether she is intelligent; whether he is hardworking or a dropout; whether she will be mentally healthy and happy."

To read the other 141 reasons to get married and remain married for the rest of your life, visit the Marriage and Religion Research Institute's website.