FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 21, 2005

Contact: Brad Snavely
(517) 374-1171, ext. 104

New Report Indicates Strong Support for Marriage

Most Michigan Citizens Believe the State Should Encourage Marriage Education Programs

LANSING, Mich. –– Michigan Family Forum (MFF), a Lansing-based family policy organization, today announced the release of a new report profiling the attitudes of Michigan residents about marriage, aspirations for marriage, and past experiences with marriage. The report was developed by the National Fatherhood Initiative (NFI), who conducted a survey of 1500 residents in 25 states, including Michigan where 404 residents age 18 and older were polled.

Among the report’s findings are the following statistics:

• Eighty-nine percent (89%) of respondents said that marriage should be a lifelong commitment;
• Ninety-seven percent (97%) said that fathers are just as important as mothers for the proper development of children;
• Eighty-seven percent (87%) disagreed with the statement, “Marriage is an old-fashioned, outmoded institution;
• Seventy-three percent (73%) disagreed with the statement, “Either spouse should be allowed to terminate a marriage at any time for any reason.”

“These statistics overwhelmingly show that Michigan’s citizens support marriage and believe that divorce is too easy,” said MFF Executive Director Brad Snavely. “This data corresponds closely with polling data we have conducted in the past, including a poll in November 2004 showing that eighty-seven percent (87%) of registered voters agree that divorce is a problem in our society and sixty-two percent (62%) believe something should be done to reduce the number of divorces. 2 The citizens of this state are speaking out loud and clear – efforts to strengthen marriage and reduce divorce are sorely needed to help strengthen Michigan’s families!”

In 2004, the Michigan legislature passed a package of bills that would have encouraged the formation of healthy marriages and helped protect the children of divorce. Governor Granholm chose to veto the bills, however, saying that it would be inappropriate for the law to encourage four hours of pre-marital education. Clearly, most citizens disagree with the Governor’s view. More than half of the survey respondents (54.5%) in the NFI survey agreed that “all couples considering marriage should be required by law to have premarital counseling before they marry” and eighty-seven percent (87%) of those “on the market” for a spouse said they would attend free marital or pre-marital education classes.

1 “Marriage in Michigan: A Report of a New Survey,” National Fatherhood Initiative (November, 2005). www.fatherhood.org

2 “Marriage and Divorce: Public Opinion in Michigan,” Michigan Family Forum (February, 2005). www.michiganfamily.org/main-resources/publications/2005_poll_booklet-web.pdf

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Click here to view more statistics from this study.