Promises to Keep: Decline and Renewal of Marriage in America

This collection of essays by prominent lawyers, theologians, social scientists, policy makers, and activists examines the reasons why the once treasured institution of marriage has been steadily displaced by a culture of divorce and unwed parenthood. "Promises to Keep" presents the full text of The Council on Families in America's 1995 investigation, "Marriage in America: A Report to the Nation", and the contributors provide suggestions for marital resurrection to counteract trends that have created tragic hardships for children, generated poverty within families, and burdened us with insupportable social costs. Sponsored by The Institute for American Values.Author Biography: David Popenoe is professor of sociology and associate dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University. Jean Bethke Elshtain is the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Professor of social and political ethics at the Divinity School of the University of Chicago and the author of numerous books on women, politics, and the family. David Blankenhorn is the president of the Institute for American Values.