I was 27 when I got married. That was well after most of my friends, whose wedding functions I attended. It was also after two younger sisters had preceded me into marital bliss. When my marriage did occur, it happened to the relief of some distant relations and other parties who had started to worry that I was malingering in bachelorhood. And it was also something of a relief to me, who had started to believe them. For this reason I’m sympathetic about what I and many I’ve talked with perceive as a growing anxiety among young LDS people about the prospects and process of marriage.
To say nothing of the debates about same-sex marriage, the social terrain surrounding traditional, heterosexual marriage in the United States continues to shift dramatically. The proportion of Americans that are married is at an all time low (51% as of 2011, down from 72% in 1960), and so is the marriage rate. And age patterns for marriage are changing also. According to a large-scale study in 2013, (appropriately titled Knot Yet) the average age at first marriage continues marching steadily upward, with both positive and worrisome consequences. The average age of marriage among Americans is now 27 for women; for men, 29. As the study summarized: “Marriage has shifted from being the cornerstone to the capstone of adult life.”
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