The Impact of a Wedding Band

In an article entitled, “Marriage Gap Could Sway Elections,” USA Today reported that the wedding band could have the greatest impact upon congressional elections this fall. According to the 2005 Census, House districts held by Republicans are full of married people; Democratic districts are stacked with people who have never married. The article also sited the 2004 Presidential election as more evidence of this divide. According to exit polls conducted by national news organizations, President Bush beat John Kerry by 15 percentage points among married people and lost by 18 percentage points among unmarried people.

The most interesting part of this finding is not political, but what this says about the world view of Americans. What conclusions can be made from these findings? First, the impact of your family is greater than you tend to think. The health and survival of your marriage is critical to the nation, as a whole. Your belief about marriage and family impacts not only your family, but our entire culture. Second, those who are married with children tend to vote differently, because they see life differently. Due to their concern for their legacy to their children, they tend to be cautious about social experiments, such as gay marriage. When done right, parenthood is a self-sacrificing experience. The overwhelming experience of sacrificial love drives people to think less about their rights and more about future generations’ survivability. Third, I think we should find encouragement in this report. It says that living according to a biblical world view, though often lampooned in the popular culture, has a profound effect. (Remember from where the popular culture is broadcast. New York and Hollywood tend to be the most liberal and hostile toward the core values of the Bible.)

We can make a difference in the fly-over zone, as it is often called. We can impact the vast fruited plain of this nation, where normal people live, by living our lives according to biblical truth and love. If we will lead our families and vote, guided by our deepest convictions, we can make a difference.

I am encouraged by a recent report card on marriage in Alabama, published by the Alabama Policy Institute, which reported that we are making progress against the rising tide of divorce in our state. I am convinced we will see even greater progress in the culture, as pastors and people work together to develop strong biblical marriages and stronger biblical world views in our families.


Ed Litton