According to research conducted by the Institute for Family Studies in "Marriage Deserts: Mapping America's Family Divide," fewer than 25% of households with children in places like Detroit and Washington, D.C., are headed by married parents.
While many analysts point to inflation and rising living costs as the main causes, Michael Knowles, a conservative political commentator best known for his work with The Daily Wire, recently pointed out on the "Fox & Friends" program that wealthy areas are also seeing steep declines.
"A lot of people are blaming socioeconomic factors, and that's actually the least contributing factor," he said.
Knowles argued that economics do not tell the full story.
"The family is the fundamental unit of politics," Knowles said. "So, if you lose your families, you're gonna have a real hard time having a country."
He pointed to data showing that Americans who attend religious services weekly are nearly 40% more likely to marry and more than 60% more likely to have children. He said the decline in marriage and family formation is closely tied to declining religious participation.
"The biggest driver is religiosity," he said. "You can play around with the economics or some of the demographic issues, but it's really religion. As religion declines, so does the American family."
Knowles also noted that areas with high levels of religious participation, such as Utah and Fort Bend County, Texas, are bucking the trend, with married-parent rates approaching 80%.
"If you believe God tells you to be fruitful and multiply, it turns out you're probably gonna do it," he concluded. "We'll be one nation under God, or we probably won't be a nation at all."
The Institute for Family Studies report used 2020 U.S. Census data to map areas where married-parent households are relatively uncommon. It found that only 18% to 26% of households with children in the 10 areas with the lowest rates are headed by married couples.
