Marriage & cohabitation

• There has been a steady decrease in marriages, particularly first marriages, in the UK since the early 1970s
• While there have been a number of same-sex marriages since that became available, marriage between men and women is at the lowest level ever
• Sociologists' suggested reasons for the decrease in marriages


  • Secularisation: The declining importance of religion in society has reduced the stigma associated with cohabiting, meaning people feel less need to get married
  • Divorce rates: Increased divorce rates may have put people off getting married
  • Expense: The average wedding now costs over £27,000
  • The pure relationship: Giddens (1995) argues that people today are searching for the perfect relationship and always imagine that there might be something better. Because people no longer need to get married, either socially or financially, its purpose has changed
• Another significant trend is that people are getting married much later in life
• Average age to get married today

  • 37 for men
  • 35 for women
• The average age to get married today is up from 29 and 26 in 1974
• Cohabiting couples are the fastest-growing family type in the UK today