Family

Sam Sturgeon, senior research manager at Bonneville Communications, investigates the decline of the family in recent years, citing diminishing marital roles as one element behind the decline, as well as the loss of moral authority.

Scott Stanley, professor at the University of Denver, discusses why and how commitment develops in relationships and investigates the problems with cohabitation.

Jason Carroll, professor at Brigham Young University, shares relationship advice for young single adults, discussing the importance of timing in relationships, the problematic increase in cohabitations, and the sexual chemistry paradox.

A talk with Naomi Schaefer Riley from the Home Truth's conference that discusses raising children, the structure of childhood and balance between career and parenthood.

Jenet Erickson presents social science research outlining the distinctive contributions of mothers and fathers to children's development.

Sherif Girgis sketches the philosophy behind the conjugal view of marriage, contrasting two competing views of marriage and defending the conjugal view.

Dr. Jason Carroll, professor at Brigham Young University, offers six takeaways from the 2014 Wheatley Conference on Family.

Ryan Anderson, expert at the Heritage Foundation, defends traditional marriage, citing evidence that gender is relevant in parenthood and the dangers of redefining marriage.

The conclusion that redefining marriage will materially alter the mix of social benefits marriage provides is supported not only by sound socio-institutional theory, logic, and common sense but by experience with other changes to marriage and marriage-related expectations. Of course, no one can know the precise, long-term consequences of redefining marriage to include same-sex couples. It is simply too soon, and the ways it may affect marriage are too complex to be understood without ample time and extensive conceptual and empirical inquiry. Justice Alito recently made this point: Past changes in the understanding of marriage… have had far-reaching consequences. But the process by which such consequences come about is complex, involving the interaction of numerous factors, and tends to occur over an extended period of time. We can expect something similar to take place if same-sex marriage becomes widely accepted. The long-term consequences of this change are not now known and are unlikely to be ascertainable for some time to come.