Divorce Rates Are Falling and Marriage Is Rising, Says Leading Researcher
July 31, 2025
A prominent family researcher says reports of marriage’s decline have been overstated—and that the institution is rebounding.
University of Virginia sociology professor Brad Wilcox makes that case in an article for The Atlantic, arguing that the often-cited claim that half of all marriages end in divorce is flat-out wrong and that the divorce rate is actually declining. Meanwhile, the percentage of children growing up in married, two-parent homes is on the rise. Wilcox is a senior fellow at the Institute for Family Studies.
