by Vince Sacksteder
Spreading the Culture of Death seems to be as easy as growing dandelions while building the Civilization of Love seems to be as tough as growing prize roses. Going the easy way, however, yields very bitter fruit, and taking the more challenging path brings fulfillment of all our best heart’s desires.
Looking at the data from the US Census (2021) we can see troubling trends for American families. First, less than 28% of US households are married families with minor children. Second, 4 in 10 children are born to unmarried parents (CDC, 2020). Third, only about 50% of American children by their senior year at high school will have been continuously raised by their married birth parents. (Institute for Family Studies, 2016)
What is contributing to these trends?
Sex outside marriage, cohabitation, divorce, widespread contraceptive use, and abortion are the roots of the culture of death. To promote a healthy society we need to build a civilization rooted in true love. The first step is to train ourselves and others to live chastely. The good news is that this (huge) task is doable and millions of youth will respond eagerly to the message of keeping sexual love for marriage and thousands of couples will turn from contraception to Natural Family Planning. By knowing where the problem is and what to do about it, we can challenge the current culture, AND WIN!
We propose seven strategies for Building the Civilization of Love. They are Prayer, Premarital Chastity, Fertility Appreciation, Openness to Children, Marital Faithfulness, Natural Family Planning, and Dignity of the body. The more we think about these, the more we realize that each one is a powerful tool for Building the Civilization of Love. We can all do something (or lots of things) to make a difference in helping vulnerable families to achieve their dreams.
[1] US Census Bureau. (November 2021). Table: Household by Type: 1940 to Present.
[2] CDC National Center for Health Statistics. (2022, February 7). Unmarried Childbearing.
[3] Zill, Nicholas & Wilcox, W. Bradford. (2018, February 27). 1-in-2: A New Estimate of the Share of Children Being Raised by Married Parents. Institute for Family Studies.