On the New Context of Marriage in Western Europe

Abstract

The recent decline in fertility in western Europe has been accompanied by a decline in the number of marriages an increase in the number of divorces and changes in the fertility of unwed mothers. This has followed a period during which marriage was nearly universal and age at marriage had declined precipitously. In the last 10 years or so marriage rates have fallen off and divorce rates soared and an increase in cohabitation without official marriage has been noted along with a concomitant increase in numbers of children born out of wedlock. Marriage has become an increasingly personal affair based on mutual feelings -- a point attested to by both the rise in divorce rates (when these bonds break down) and the current questioning of formal marriage. Increased professional activity of women outside the home also points in this direction. However this does not imply that cohabitation will become the norm -- at least in those countries where social institutions continue to encourage marriage as the necessary framework for child rearing.