Saving the Family to Save the Church.

In today's Morning Bell newsletter, The Heritage Foundation, in promotion of their upcoming event "Religious Practice and the Family," writes:

But you don’t have to be a sociologist to notice that marriage and parenting often serve as an impetus, specifically for men, to get more involved with church. In a new research paper to be presented at Thursday’s conference, Wilcox examines the data and makes a further claim.

His study provides substantial evidence for the idea that “the fortunes of American religion rise and fall, at least in part, with the fortunes of the intact, married family,” Wilcox says. So if the nation’s retreat from marriage continues, his work suggests, American churches will be weakened.

Using data from the General Social Survey, Wilcox concludes that unmarried parents are 23 percent less likely to attend church on a weekly basis than are adults who don’t have children. However, men and women who are married and have children are 62 percent more likely to attend church than unmarried peers who are childless.

“Clearly,” Wilcox says, “adults who combine marriage and parenthood in a conventional manner are most likely to attend religious services.”

The fight for "traditional family values," as if they ever really existed, is a fight to save the church. Homosexuality? Divorce? Abortion? All enemies of the church, in this construct.