Who’s getting married, who isn’t and why

Guest:  Andrew Cherlin

In honor of the start of wedding season, we’re going to spend the hour talking about the state of the American marriage. Despite the odds (the U.S. Census Bureau says roughly 50% of first marriages will end in divorce), 80 percent of all Americans want to be being married. Our guest, Johns Hopkins researcher ANDREW CHERLIN, says that while marriage rates have remained relatively constant over the years, the reasons people choose to wed are changing. He says that for many couples, marriage has become a status symbol — a message to the bigger world that you are successful in your personal life and are ready to take a commitment seriously. So who is getting married these days, who isn’t, and what differentiates the two groups? Are we getting better at being married and is the institution here to stay?

Photo by Flickr user Francesca Palazzi