A new research by Barna Institute studied Americans' perceptions on cohabitation, and its acceptance within different groups.
The survey was conducted on 1,097 individuals via online survey between April 7 and 14.
A high majority of adults (65 percent) say that it is acceptable to live with your future spouse.
There is a sharp divide about the idea among the religious and non-religious segments. Only about 41 percent practicing Christians think that cohabitation is a good choice, while about 88 percent non-religious people perceive it as a suitable option.
A similar contrast was seen among the liberals and conservatives. Liberals (86 percent) preferred cohabitation more than conservatives (37 percent).
Unsurprisingly, millennials (72 percent) …show more content…
Only 9 percent said it was practical, and another 5 percent mentioned cheap rent as the reason for living together.
No wide gap was observed between the proportion of people (57 percent) who are currently cohabitating or have cohabitated and the proportion of people (65 percent) who think it is a good idea, implying that Americans practice what they believe.
Living together did not increase or decrease the pressure of marriage for 62 percent of the respondents, and the proportion of those who said that cohabitation decreases marriage pressure (19 percent) was same as those who said it increased (18 percent) …show more content…
Interestingly however, when it comes to the strongest views, respondents were more likely to say "no, definitely not" (24%) than "yes, absolutely" (16%).
However, Americans did not have the same favorable views about cohabitation, when it involved their children. About 44 percent said they would be 'OK' with their children cohabitating, and another 40 percent said they would be 'Not OK.' Some 24 percent expressed strong negative views of "no, definitely not," and only 16 percent gave strong affirmation of "yes, absolutely" to the idea of their children cohabitating.
"America is well beyond the tipping point when it comes to cohabitation," says Roxanne Stone, editor in chief at Barna Group. "Living together before marriage is no longer an exception, but instead has become an accepted and expected milestone of adulthood. Even a growing number of parents-nearly half of Gen-Xers and Boomers, and more than half of Millennials-want and expect their children to live with a significant other before getting
The survey was conducted on 1,097 individuals via online survey between April 7 and 14.
A high majority of adults (65 percent) say that it is acceptable to live with your future spouse.
There is a sharp divide about the idea among the religious and non-religious segments. Only about 41 percent practicing Christians think that cohabitation is a good choice, while about 88 percent non-religious people perceive it as a suitable option.
A similar contrast was seen among the liberals and conservatives. Liberals (86 percent) preferred cohabitation more than conservatives (37 percent).
Unsurprisingly, millennials (72 percent) …show more content…
Only 9 percent said it was practical, and another 5 percent mentioned cheap rent as the reason for living together.
No wide gap was observed between the proportion of people (57 percent) who are currently cohabitating or have cohabitated and the proportion of people (65 percent) who think it is a good idea, implying that Americans practice what they believe.
Living together did not increase or decrease the pressure of marriage for 62 percent of the respondents, and the proportion of those who said that cohabitation decreases marriage pressure (19 percent) was same as those who said it increased (18 percent) …show more content…
Interestingly however, when it comes to the strongest views, respondents were more likely to say "no, definitely not" (24%) than "yes, absolutely" (16%).
However, Americans did not have the same favorable views about cohabitation, when it involved their children. About 44 percent said they would be 'OK' with their children cohabitating, and another 40 percent said they would be 'Not OK.' Some 24 percent expressed strong negative views of "no, definitely not," and only 16 percent gave strong affirmation of "yes, absolutely" to the idea of their children cohabitating.
"America is well beyond the tipping point when it comes to cohabitation," says Roxanne Stone, editor in chief at Barna Group. "Living together before marriage is no longer an exception, but instead has become an accepted and expected milestone of adulthood. Even a growing number of parents-nearly half of Gen-Xers and Boomers, and more than half of Millennials-want and expect their children to live with a significant other before getting