When Guys Who Avoid Marriage Tell Others to Marry

Dr Laura read this during Hour 2 of her program on Tuesday, February 8, 2022. It's titled "What Are the Social Benefits of Marriage?"

Please note that all of the supposed social benefits for marriage for men can be obtained without legally marrying.

Also note that the website is owned by "United States Conference of Catholic Bishops." If marriage is so great, why don't any of them get married??? This is like men who all vow to eat steak on a regular basis telling everyone else how great being a vegan is. Roman Catholic bishops rely on Catholics having more children so that those children will fill their churches and schools.

On average, husbands and wives are healthier, happier and enjoy longer lives than those who are not married.

Translation: People are more likely to marry people who are healthier and happier and divorce them if they're sick or unhappy.

Men appear to reap the most physical health benefits from marriage and suffer the greatest health consequences if they divorce.

Translation: Women are more likely to marry healthy men and leave the man if the man gets sick.

Also, men can avoid divorce by never marrying.

Married mothers have lower rates of depression than single or cohabiting mothers, probably because they are more likely to receive practical and emotional support from their child’s father and his family.

Spoiler: "Cohabitating mothers" doesn't sort out situations in which the couple PLANNED and INTENDED to live together and have children together. If they did, they'd likely find it's pretty much the same as married. And of course raising a child without a partner is difficult.

Also, if you don't have children this isn't an issue.

Married couples build more wealth on average than singles or cohabiting couples.

Translation: Women tend to marry men who do or will earn more than them, even if they are very high earners themselves.

Also, my unmarried counterpart who earns 51 percent of what I do is ahead of me.

Married men earn more money than do single men with similar education and job histories.

See above. Married men have much less freedom to enjoy their earnings.

Children raised by their own married mother and father are:

• Less likely to be poor or to experience persistent economic insecurity

• More likely to stay in school, have fewer behavioral and attendance problems, and earn four-year college degrees

• Less vulnerable to serious emotional illness, depression and suicide

• More likely to have positive attitudes towards marriage and greater success in forming lasting marriages

This section above lumps all "unmarried parents" together, including single parents, widowed parents, divorced parents, stepparent situations, etc. Once again, it doesn't look at INTENTIONAL, PLANNED parenting with a cohabitating couple, which would likely show that things are about the same as being married. Notice the last point is "If you're married, your kids are more likely to marry!" It's circular reasoning. I'd prefer my son not marry, unless things change significantly.

And again, if you stay childfree, it's irrelevant.

Married women are at lower risk for domestic violence than women in cohabiting or dating relationships.

Translation: Women are less likely to marry an abuser. Isn't that a good thing?

Boys raised in single-parent homes are more likely to engage in criminal and delinquent behavior than those raised by two married biological parents.

Solution: Don't have kids.

Married women are significantly less likely to be the victims of violent crime than single or divorced women. Married men are less likely to perpetrate violent crimes than unmarried men.

Translation: Women marry and stay with men who are less likely to beat them. It's also possible women are far less likely to claim their husband abused them because they are financially and residentially connected to them. Divorcing/divorced women have incentives to reveal or claim abuse.

The institution of marriage reliably creates the social, economic and affective conditions for effective parenting.

Nope. The choices of the parents do that. They can choose to create those conditions without a terrible state contract.

Being married changes people’s lifestyles and habits in ways that are personally and socially beneficial. Marriage is a “seedbed” of prosocial behavior.

Translation: Married people are less likely to do things Roman Catholic Bishops don't like.

Marriage generates social capital. The social bonds created through marriage yield benefits not only for the family but for others as well, including the larger society.

Word salad that doesn't actually mean anything. These "bonds" can be created without a terrible state contract.

DO NOT FALL FOR IT GUYS. CHANCES ARE, YOU ARE BETTER OFF FREE.

Join the marriage strike. Stay unmarried.

As always, free free to comment below.