The Bishop of Lichfield has declared that the “great British experiment” to downgrade marriage has failed. The Rt Rev Jonathan Gledhill said surveys showed children whose parents were married tended to do better in life.
They were also healthier and involved themselves less in drugs or crime.
In a letter published in the March editions of parish magazines in Lichfield Diocese, the Bishop said: “The great British experiment to downgrade marriage and the family gives no sign of running out of steam.
“The recent British Social Attitudes Survey appears to show that marriage and cohabitation are seen as equally valid by 66 per cent of the population.”
But according to Bishop Gledhill the argument does not hold water.
He said: “Teachers, social workers, probation officers and leaders of voluntary youth organisations always tell me that children are deeply affected by trouble at home, and that what affects them worse than anything is the splitting up of their family and dad leaving.
“It may be unfashionable to say so, but everywhere there is the need for us to re-think our public policy about bringing up our children.
“The evidence shows that the experiment to downplay marriage has failed us dreadfully.
“Our children deserve the chance to be brought up by a man and a woman who promise to love each other always.”
4 Comments
I agree with the Bishop - he speaks much sense and I was a fan of his when I lived in Lichfield between 2002 and 2007 !!
Hmmmm,
I have a letter from the Archbishop of Canterbury that disallows me from getting married in a Christian Retreat House because I don’t have a strong enough connection there. It would be simple to get it registered as a civil venue but then there can be no mention of God in the ceremony.
We have found a way around it but it is hardly a means of encouraging marriage within in Christian context. We did not ask to get divorced and neither of us in a marriage when we met.
Three cheers for the Bishop of Lichfield! He is drawing attention to the evidence that supports the efficacy of marriage, as does Professor Andrew Oswald at the University of Warwick. Professor David Paton at the University of Nottingham has shown how greater access to contraceptive services does not reduce teenage pregnancy, but does increase sexually transmitted infections. Will this be the beginning of end of the “great British experiment” to downgrade marriage? Let’s hope so.
Perhaps when we start calling Political Correctness by its proper name of “Fascism” we shall get away from these social engineering experiments by the liberal elite