by Dana Mack
Sometime in the 1970s, after two decades of rising divorce rates, a group of professionals had the bright idea of offering marriage education to the young. The courses were to go beyond engaged couples to public high school students in the throes of first dates and the rapture of first romances.
It was—and still is—a good idea, in principle. Divorce rates remain high (though not as high as they once were)—hovering around 41% for first marriages. Providing the models and skills that encourage marital stability fulfills a fundamental public good.
Aroundtheyear2000,Ievaluatedanumberofmarriageeducationcurriculaforan InstituteforAmericanValuesreport (theInstituteforAmericanValueswasanon-partisanthinktankonfamilyandsocialpolicy,foundedbyDavidBlankenhorn,thathassincecloseditsdoors).Icameawaywiththeimpressionthatmostcurriculaconcentratedfarmoreoncommunicationandconflictresolutionskillsthanonmarriageasaspiritual,moral,andcivicvocation.Andthisseemedtometobeilladvised.Indeed, researchbythen hadshownthatcommitmenttotheinstitutionofmarriagewasafarmoreimportantp
