Happy National Marriage Week!

Happy National Marriage Week!

February 7th through the 14th is designated as National Marriage Week USA. This is a great time for families and churches in particular to rehearse God’s teaching on marriage and to champion this divinely ordained institution that is good for all people, at all times, in all places.

God’s institution of marriage, designed for mankind’s good and God’s glory, comes with unparalleled blessings—blessings that God in His unfathomable goodness allows to extend to those who do not believe in Him and even to those who blaspheme Him. That’s God’s common grace.

The blessings of marriage include, typically, natural procreation—the bringing of new life into this world through the unique contributions of both the male husband and female wife. Children born to or adopted by men and women in a God-designed marriage are, on average, better off in every way than children in any other kind of family structure. They are considerably more likely to avoid poverty, poor health, abuse of all sorts, educational difficulties, crime, substance addictions, and more. 

Men and women in one-man, one-woman marriages also enjoy great—again, on average—benefits, such as better health, especially for men, higher income (even when only one spouse is working), more savings, avoidance of poverty, in particular for women, and more.

All of these benefits have been verified thousands of times by social science research not just in the United States but around the world. And we should not be surprised by that. God’s plan for marriage and family works. When we deviate from that plan, the problems begin—and not only continue but expand. When individual God-designed marriages are numerous, strong, and healthy, the entire society is better off. 

Yet another reason to champion marriage was affirmed by the Communio Nationwide Study on Faith and Relationships, which was discussed at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank. The study’s results suggest that the decline in resident fatherhood and the collapse of marriage are likely explanations for the increase in religious non-affiliation across the US. According to the founder of Communio, J. P. De Gance, “those in the church interested in seeing a renewal of faith, need to see a renewal of marriage.”

Churches need to take seriously their role as the champions and the protectors of marriage and family as God designed them. No other institution or organization is equipped to do for marriage what Christian churches can do. Teaching on marriage, strong premarital counseling, marriage mentoring, and marriage strengthening are all best done by and in churches.

To honor both the institution of marriage and individual marriages that have gone the distance, we are looking for Wisconsin’s longest-married couples to be a part of WFC’s Marriage Hall of Fame! 

Applying to the Hall of Fame is open to any married couple in Wisconsin who has been married for sixty or more years. Marriage Hall of Fame Inductees will be published on our website by March. By filling out the application, couples consent to have their names, stories, and photos published on our website. 2024 applications are now open. Applications close Feb. 19, and inductees will be announced Feb 29. Nominate a couple HERE

Every marriage that reflects God’s design of one man and one woman should be celebrated because God’s plan for marriage is universally good and well worth celebrating.

More Than A Piece Of Paper

More Than A Piece Of Paper

“It’s just a piece of paper. We love each other and that’s enough.” Ever heard anyone say something like that when explaining why they aren’t married but are living together? Unfortunately, that’s become a pretty common sentiment about marriage.

The truth is marriage is much more than just a piece of paper. As Institute for Family Studies points out in a marriage fact sheet, “[m]arriage is about building a common life together, forming an exclusive emotional, sexual, and spiritual bond, forging a shared financial future, taking care of your spouse in ‘sickness and health,’ and providing a stable and loving home for any children that you have.”

Children get lost all too frequently in the marriage discussion these days. Many couples, if they marry at all, are choosing to not have children, claiming children are too expensive, or don’t fit their lifestyle, or the world is overpopulated, or the world is too bad to bring children into it. Broken families or children born to single women put children at huge risk for all sorts of pathologies. Children adopted into homes with two dads or two moms are always purposefully deprived of either a mother or a father.

All of these reflect that reality that our culture is much more about adult happiness than the well-being of children.

What we know is that what is best for children is to be brought up in the homes of their married dads and moms. This doesn’t mean children brought up in other family structures can’t overcome the odds. Many certainly do, but this does mean that normatively an intact, married-dad-and-mom home is where children are much more likely to thrive, not just survive. And every society depends on the next generation to become well-adjusted, productive adults.

Marriage matters to children. Social science continues to reinforce what God has designed since He instituted marriage and family in the Garden of Eden. What social science finds is that children living with their married dads and moms are more likely to do well in school than their peers in other family structures and actually graduate high school and when they reach adulthood. They are also more likely to have full-time employment and to succeed in their work.

Boys in intact families are more likely to avoid getting in trouble with the law than boys not in these families, and thus, these boys stay out of jail. Girls who are brought up in a home with married mom and dad are less likely to be sexually active than girls in other families and therefore avoid teen pregnancies. Importantly, children living with their married dad and mom avoid poverty, which in itself can result in severe disadvantages.

So how do we change the culture and the mindset of so many? First, Christian families model godly marriages. They talk positively about God’s plan for marriage and about their own marriage. They promote child-bearing and adoption within marriage. Seeing good marriages and families is one of the best ways to ensure the next generation values marriage and wants marriage and children for themselves.

Churches also have an important role to play in creating a marriage culture. Biblical preaching and teaching on the subject is essential, but so is celebrating marriage as God designed it—making much of weddings and anniversaries and births sends a powerful message to everyone that marriage is good and desirable.

Government can help too by making sure no law penalizes marriage, but rather that married couples receive some benefits, reflecting the good they bring to society in general. Additionally, we need to stop making welfare so readily available for single women with children and then removing those funds if they marry. That incentivizes exactly the wrong behavior and actually sets children up for trouble.

Marriage is so much more than a piece of paper. Marriage matters, and it especially matters to children. Wise societies will do everything they can to ensure they are promoting the best interest of children—their future. Once again, it must be said, God’s way is always the best way.

Marriage is crucial for a healthy society 

Marriage is crucial for a healthy society 

Marriage is not only the bedrock of society, but it is a sacred institution designed by God for His glory and humankind’s good.. Marriage plays a significant role in the overall health of a couple and their children, and allows for prosperous, well-ordered societies to thrive.

Unfortunately, the institution of marriage is under attack, especially since Congress passed and the president signed into law the so-called Respect for Marriage Act, which distorts God’s design and redefines marriage as nothing more than abstract adult desires. The true definition of marriage, a union between one man and one woman, must be the law of the land in order for families to flourish and society to thrive. 

In addition to the redefining of marriage, marriage rates are declining in the U.S. A recent Pew poll shows that only 34% of U.S. adults believe society is better off if “people make marriage and having children a priority,” while 64% believe society is “just as well off if people have priorities other than marriage and children.” As we know, these beliefs are woefully misguided, and our country is experiencing the consequences of a lack of strong families headed by married dads and moms.

This is bad news for individuals and society in general. A major survey published by Harvard Medical School shows that married men are healthier overall and live longer than men who were never married or are divorced. For women, marriage provides security and a safe environment to raise children, who ultimately provide both spouses with life-long fulfillment. Further, married couples also have happier, healthier relationships than cohabiting couples.

Marriage is not only vitally important for couples, but it is also a major determinant of their children’s health and success. A child born into the home of his/her married mother and father “will receive the complimentary love of a mom and dad,” noted Katy Faust in an interview with Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins. 

Children born outside God’s design of a life-long heterosexual union are at greater risk for homelessness, drug use, child poverty, teen suicide, academic failure, teen pregnancy, and more. “Every social ill we are facing today is because this country, culturally and legally, is getting the family wrong,” says Faust. Further, A recent study found that children raised in stable homes are “more likely to flourish economically, educationally, and socially.” Marriage is the best way to provide children with a foundation for success.  

The good news is that more children are living with their married mother and father, according to the Institute for Family Studies. This is because both marriage and divorce rates are declining, meaning the marriages that do occur are more stable. In addition, fewer unmarried women are having children while the number of children born to married parents has been more stable. 

The Institute for Family Studies promotes the Success Sequence, which consists of three steps that ought to be taken in a certain order to ensure the highest chance of success in one’s life. These steps include getting at least a high school diploma, getting a full-time job, and getting married before having children. Young adults who complete the Success Sequence in order, even in the face of big challenges, have a much greater chance of achieving success. This is true for every race and economic background in America. In fact, the latest research shows that 99% percent of young people who follow all three steps are not poor as adults. 

As Christians, our mission is to promote marriage in every way  we can. “We must encourage the marriage of eligible bachelors and bachelorettes within our circles of influence by not being afraid to be matchmakers. We must be witnesses for healthy and loving marriages and family life to our neighbors and local communities by inviting neighbors over for playdates or dinner, striking up conversations in the barber shop and dentist office, and getting involved in civic life by running for school board and other local, state, and federal offices…We must invite non-believing or fallen away members of our local communities to our churches,” write Dan Hart and Connor Semelsberger of the Washington Stand

Building a culture of deep respect for God’s design and the institution of marriage is up to us. Until we do, children will fall victim to many societal ills, and couples will experience poorer health and less success. Marriage is every society’s foundational institution, and when that foundation is weak, the society is weak. 

The So-called “Respect for Marriage Act” undermines religious liberty and children’s rights

The So-called “Respect for Marriage Act” undermines religious liberty and children’s rights

Last week, the US House of Representatives passed a bill deceptively called the “Respect for Marriage Act” in a 267-157 vote. The bill isn’t about marriage or respect at all, but about imposing a radical view of sexual ideology. 

Unfortunately, this bill had substantial support from both parties. 

The bill comes in response to Justice Clarence Thomas’ opinion in the Dobbs case. Thomas noted that Obergefell, the 2015 SCOTUS case that foisted “legalized”  same-sex marriage on all 50 states, should be reconsidered. “In future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including GriswoldLawrence, and Obergefell,” Thomas wrote. “Because any substantive due process decision is ‘demonstrably erroneous,’ […] we have a duty to ‘correct the error’ established in those precedents.”

If the “Respect for Marriage Act” is passed by the Senate, states would no longer be able to define and recognize marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman, even if the Obergefell decision is overturned. States would be forced to recognize same-sex marriage, distorting God’s design and redefining marriage as nothing more than abstract adult desires. It would even require federal recognition of polygamy if just one state requires it.

The bill would severely damage two vital pillars of society: the nuclear family and religious liberty. It would also strip children of one of their most basic rights.

Children have a natural right to both a mother and father, and they suffer tremendously when they are deprived of one or the other – especially when that happens purposefully. Fatherlessness is already an epidemic in our country, and we are seeing serious consequences as a result.

Children don’t have the knowledge or power to vouch for themselves, and they bear the brunt of the consequences when it comes to marriage and family issues such as divorce and same-sex marriage. We cannot defend children and their rights without defending natural marriage between one man and one woman. 

Thankfully, 80 national and state leaders, including WFA president Julaine Appling, have signed a letter calling on US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to back down from his support for the so-called “Respect for Marriage Act.”

We are strongly urging Sen. Johnson to vote NO on this bill. Sen. Johnson is one of five Republican US senators who have now publicly announced that they will vote YES to support this proposal that threatens the religious freedom of anyone who doesn’t support same-sex marriage. 

Please contact Sen. Johnson (202-224-5323) and urge him to defend natural marriage, children rights, and religious freedom. 

Defending God’s Design in our Schools

Schools across the country seem to be hyper-focused on race and sexuality. Most recently, a Rhode Island private school told its students not to send Valentine’s Day cards that showed only white people or perpetuated gender “stereotypes.” 

Parents received guidelines from Moses Brown Lower School stating, “Please coach your child if purchasing commercially produced cards to select something that does not feel ‘gender normative’ (with separate ‘boy cards’ vs. ‘girl cards,’ for instance.) Also, consider talking to your child about avoiding cards that portray only White human characters.”

Parents have understandably expressed their frustration with these guidelines and with the school’s culture as a whole. “Why does my four year old tell me the teacher said that someday she might want to marry another girl?” said one parent. Moses Brown often promotes progressive ideology about transgenderism and sexual identity. The school even hosts a Gender Sexuality Alliance club.

Stories like this one are becoming extremely common around the country, and even in Wisconsin. Children are inundated with harmful lies about race and gender. They are taught to view one another based on these immutable characteristics, rather than as individual children lovingly created by God. Many public schools, and sadly even some private schools, cannot be trusted to educate our children and act in their best interest. 

This is why Wisconsin Family Action is working to pass vital legislation and combat the evil ideas that children are learning in school. 

We are actively working to support the “Help Not Harm Act,” which is essential for children who are suffering from gender dysphoria in Wisconsin. The bill protects children who are confused about their biological sex by protecting them from harmful drugs and mutilation surgeries, which the left affirm are part of “tolerance.” This couldn’t be further from the truth. 

What these children need is the exact opposite of what their schools are teaching them. They need the truth about God’s design, not affirmation of the lies they believe about themselves. 

Schools here in Wisconsin are not only feeding children harmful lies about their sexuality, but are  even hiding information from parents. 

The Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) published a policy stating that children are allowed to “transition” to a different gender at school and teachers are prohibited from telling parents. It even indicates that school staff should lie to parents about how their children are presenting in school. 

Similarly, Kettle Moraine School District’s gender identity policy allows children to “change” their gender identity at school without parental consent. Again, employees are prohibited from sharing this important information with parents and even instructed to override parents’ objections. 

Thankfully, our good friends at Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty and the Alliance Defending Freedom filed lawsuits challenging both of these policies, and they are now before the Wisconsin Supreme Court.  

Just this week, we testified in support of the newly introduced “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” Assembly Bill 963, a bill that lays out 15 specific parents’ rights when it comes to their children. Several of these rights are specific to education and schools. One says parents have “[t]he right to determine the names and pronouns used for the child while at school.” A number of parents spoke at the hearing as well, supporting the bill and noting that too often their voice and their rights are either ignored or infringed.

Please pray for the success of the “Help Not Harm Act,” the “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” and favorable outcomes in these two Supreme Court cases. 

Parental rights and the well-being of our children are under attack. We must be diligent in overseeing our children’s education and demand and be part of necessary change when our schools espouse dangerous ideas. Few things are more important than the education of the next generation, and it’s up to us to hold our school officials accountable. 

Of course, the very best situation for children is to be brought up in the homes of their married biological or adopted fathers and mothers. Marriage is good for kids! So, as we near the end of National Marriage Week, it’s important we promote marriage and family as God designed it, as well asGod’s design for human sexuality and raise our children to believe and know that they were created in His image.

WFC Launches Marriage Hall of Fame!

Marriage is a sacred institution designed by God for our well-being. It contributes greatly to the overall health of a man and woman and allows for prosperous, well-ordered societies to thrive.

A major survey of over 120,000 American adults shows that married men are healthier overall and live longer than men who were never married or are divorced. For women, marriage provides security and a safe environment to raise children, who ultimately provide both spouses with life-long fulfillment. Further, married couples also have happier, healthier relationships than cohabiting couples.

Unfortunately, marriage is on the decline in our country. A recent Pew poll shows that only 34% of U.S. adults believe society is better off if “people make marriage and having children a priority,” while 64% believe society is “just as well off if people have priorities other than marriage and children.” As we know, these beliefs are woefully misguided, and our country is experiencing the consequences of a lack of strong families headed by married dads and moms..

The good news is that we can be part of reversing this trend.

At Wisconsin Family Council (WFC) and Wisconsin Family Action (WFA), we fiercely advocate for and defend God’s plan for marriage in our state. We believe that part of protecting marriage for the next generation is giving them inspiring examples of marriages that honor God and, by His grace, stand the test of time.

WFC is looking to promote and encourage healthy marriages by honoring Wisconsin’s longest married couple! We want to share this couple’s story and celebrate their life-long commitment to marriage and family.

The top-5 longest married couples will be honored by being entered into the 2022 Wisconsin Family Council Marriage Hall of Fame.

The application requires answering just 5 questions and submitting 1-2 photos. CLICK HERE to submit your entry. The deadline for entries is Thursday, February 17.

We look forward to hearing your stories and celebrating our most important institution!

Thank you to our friend Gene Mills of Louisiana Family Forum for inspiring Wisconsin’s version of the Marriage Hall of Fame.

Marriage is Sacred. We Must Defend and Uphold it.

February 7-14 marks National Marriage Week, and it provides us an opportunity to reflect on the irreplaceable value of marriage and family. 

Marriage is a sacred institution gifted to us by God, and it alone makes prosperous, well-ordered societies possible.

Unfortunately, many in our country do not understand the institution’s importance. A recent Pew Research Center poll found that only 34 percent of adults in the U.S. believe our country is better off if “people make marriage and having children a priority,” while 64 percent believe it is “just as well off if people have priorities other than marriage and children.”

While fewer Americans are getting married, we are also beginning to see the family deteriorate as more couples simply aren’t having children. In 2020, our country’s birth rate fell for the sixth year in a row and hit the lowest rate recorded. Wisconsin has been below replacement birth rate since 1974. (p. 18 of WFC’s Cultural Indicators 2019 Edition)

It’s vitally important that every American understands the value of marriage and family. No act of government can replace its role in society. Families instill children with morals, discipline, values, crucial skills, and civic virtues. They are every society’s foundational institution—by God’s good and grand design. When that foundation is weak, a society is weak. 

The traditional family unit is the bedrock of society, and the well-being of our churches, communities, state, and country is directly related to the strength of our families. Marriage was intended by God to promote human flourishing, and we suffer immensely when we deviate from His plan. 

As Christians, we have the opportunity to show the world why marriage and children are so essential and fulfilling. Our churches and families need to honor and celebrate marriages, cheer when babies are born, model strong and godly marriages, and talk positively about marriage. 

We must also elect representatives who understand the importance of marriage and family and will promote its well-being in all policies. 

Lastly, we must fight back against each societal ill that threatens the family, including rampant individualism, progressive sexual ideology, divorce, the devaluation of children, the attack on parental rights, and much more. Every attack on the family is an attack on our country as a whole. 

We have the power, and the duty, to influence the culture in a positive way and reestablish the primacy of God’s plan for the family—a man and a woman united in a lifelong, monogamous marriage relationship and the biological and/or adopted children God blesses them with.. 

Please pray for our national and Wisconsin leaders to once again cherish and value the institution of marriage and for couples to form strong, Christ-centered families.