NPR: Forum: The Marriage Go Round

Nearly half of all U.S. marriages end in divorce, and yet America's loyalty to the ideal of marriage seems rock-solid. That's one of the contradictions explored by sociologist Andrew Cherlin in his new book, "The Marriage-Go-Round: The State of Marriage and the Family in America Today."

Guest:
Andrew Cherlin, author and professor of public policy and sociology at Johns Hopkins University



Notes while listening to the program:
* Americans are more likely to monitor their marriages and walk away from them.
* Americans are more conservative about marriage, but in Europe the gay and lesbian activists want nothing of the oppressive institution of marriage.
* Americans are very contradictory about marriage.
* People in Europe who live together tend to have more stable relationships than those here in the US who are married.
* Divorce rates in step-families are much higher.
* American individualism tends to get in the way of formulating long term relationships. We put our personal growth before the idea of commitment compare to that of other countries.
* Highest divorce rates in the US are in the Red States. (8:43)