Can Marriage Survive?

Marriage isn't what it used to be. Though divorce has declined from its peak, marriage certainly is no longer considered an unbreakable covenant. For millions of cohabiting couples, marriage seems optional, or distant. With gay and lesbian couples demanding their own nuptials, marriage isn't even just for straight people anymore. Family is a crucial building block of a decent society, but marriage has always been at the center of family formation. If marriage-as-we-know-it is on the rocks, can the family, and society, be far behind?Stephanie Coontz, author of Marriage, A How Love Conquered Marriage kicks off this month with a learned lead essay. Reacting to Coontz, we've lined up the Manhattan Institute's Kay Hymowitz, author of Marriage and Caste in Separate and Unequal Families in a Post-Marital Age; economists Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers of the University of Pennsylvania; and Norval Glenn, professor of sociology at the University of Texas.