Firstly, cohabitation is increasing because it is very similar to
marriage and has far greater benefits (e.g. sharing finance). Patricia Morgan
(2003) feels that cohabitation is increasing because marriage is going out of
fashion. This is evident because the 'General Household Survey' revealed that in
1979 in the UK less than 3% of women were cohabiting but in 2005, 12% of women
were cohabiting. Many people say that cohabitation is better than marriage
because it is easier to split up and when you are married you need a divorce
which takes a lot of money and time. Morgan highlights that cohabiting couples
tend to stay together for a shorter time than married couples and this could be
due to the hassle married couples have to go through to get a divorce. The
married couple might not have money or time to get a divorce so they stay
together. Lots of people are choosing cohabitation over marriage because many
people are scared of getting a divorce, for instance a famous Bollywood singer
didn't get married because she was scared of getting a divorce.
Secondly, cohabitation is increasing because religion is not as
important as it was in the past. In the previous generations there was a stigma
of 'living in sin' if you were a couple who wasn't married but as religion lost
influence that stigma declined and more couples started to cohabitate. It is
evident that the influence of religion affects cohabitation because countries
like UK, Austria, and France who have less religious people have more cohabiting
couples than countries in southern Europe as they have more Roman Catholics. The
British Social Attitudes Survey (2001) found out that more young people find it
acceptable to cohabitate than older people. Nowadays people value the media more
than religion and the media encourages cohabitation. Sociologists see this as
changing social attitudes.
marriage and has far greater benefits (e.g. sharing finance). Patricia Morgan
(2003) feels that cohabitation is increasing because marriage is going out of
fashion. This is evident because the 'General Household Survey' revealed that in
1979 in the UK less than 3% of women were cohabiting but in 2005, 12% of women
were cohabiting. Many people say that cohabitation is better than marriage
because it is easier to split up and when you are married you need a divorce
which takes a lot of money and time. Morgan highlights that cohabiting couples
tend to stay together for a shorter time than married couples and this could be
due to the hassle married couples have to go through to get a divorce. The
married couple might not have money or time to get a divorce so they stay
together. Lots of people are choosing cohabitation over marriage because many
people are scared of getting a divorce, for instance a famous Bollywood singer
didn't get married because she was scared of getting a divorce.
Secondly, cohabitation is increasing because religion is not as
important as it was in the past. In the previous generations there was a stigma
of 'living in sin' if you were a couple who wasn't married but as religion lost
influence that stigma declined and more couples started to cohabitate. It is
evident that the influence of religion affects cohabitation because countries
like UK, Austria, and France who have less religious people have more cohabiting
couples than countries in southern Europe as they have more Roman Catholics. The
British Social Attitudes Survey (2001) found out that more young people find it
acceptable to cohabitate than older people. Nowadays people value the media more
than religion and the media encourages cohabitation. Sociologists see this as
changing social attitudes.