In September 2015, the parishes of St Joseph's, St Philomena's and Our Lady Help of Christians became one, known as the Catholic Parish of New Plymouth.

Held at the TSB Stadium, the mass attracted hundreds of parishioners from New Plymouth, Bell Block and Okato.

Father Simon Story who presided at the Mass said it was the largest Mass he had been involved in during his time in Taranaki.

He said a decade ago, parishes had a presence of mainly European people, but about one third of churchgoers now were either Filipino or Indian, a change which represented a "big shift" across the region.

"That's a blessing and a gift to the faith community," Story said.

But despite this, the numbers of people affiliated to the Catholic faith across New Zealand was fairly stagnant.

Source

• stuff.co.nz
• Image: stuff.co.nz Grant Matthew

The factors contributing to the crisis are complex.

They span generations and virtually every human institution: families, peer groups, schools, churches, work environments, law, and culture.

As scholars and marriage advocates from around the world consider new initiatives to strengthen marriages and families, it may be helpful to remind ourselves of the sources of this crisis—why it has emerged and how it has been sustained.

The Nature and Causes of the Marriage Crisis

The US marriage rate is currently the lowest ever recorded, cohabitation is rapidly becoming both a precursor and alternative to marriage among young adults, and more than half of births to women under thirty years of age now occur outside of marriage.

Among those over age thirty-five, divorce rates continue to rise, even as an increasing number of divorcees choose cohabitation over remarriage.

No longer are abuse and infidelity the main reasons given for divorce (although some research suggests infidelity occurs around the time of most divorces).

Rather, divorcing spouses routinely claim they have simply "grown apart."

Explaining how an institution like marriage—as old as civilization itself and revered by virtually all societies and religions—reached such a state of decay in the West is not a simple task, but certain sociological trends are undeniably significant.

For example, studies show that religious faith—an important component of happy, permanent marriages for women in particular—is in rapid decline.

A 2012 Pew survey found that "One-fifth of the U.S. public—and a third of adults under 30—are religiously unaffiliated today, the highest percentages ever in Pew Research Center polling."

This finding is of particular concern in light of recent data showing narcissism on the rise and empathy indecline among younger generations. Continue reading

Sources

• The Witherspoon Institute
• Image: The Marriage Counselling Blog