Unmarried heterosexual couples up in Iowa and U.S.
As the debate rages over marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples, heterosexual couples are increasingly declining the option.
The number of unmarried heterosexual couples in Iowa rose nearly 43 percent in the past decade, to 75,773 couples in 2010. Meanwhile, the number of married heterosexual couples in 2010 dropped about 1.3 percent, to 625,173. That's still a little over half of all households.
Bob Vander Plaats, chief executive officer of the Family Leader, said the statistics show that Iowa's churches and other groups need to put renewed emphasis on marriage.
"The more that we undermine the institution of marriage by saying we want to redefine it to be whatever you want it to be, the less societal importance is placed on it," he said. "We need to ramp up our efforts on the teaching of God's design for marriage and the family, and why it is healthy for our society as well."
Susan Stewart, an Iowa State University sociologist, said the increase in unmarried heterosexual couples is a national trend. One factor is that men and women are postponing marriage until they are financially secure and have had time to advance their careers, she said.
"Some sociologists call marriage a kind of capstone, where you sort of get everything else out of the way," she said. "You get your education. You make your way into the work force, and then you get married."
Many of these unmarried Iowa couples will ultimately get a wedding license, although not necessarily with the partner they are now with, she said.
A surge in Iowa's Latino population between 2000 and 2010 probably contributed to the growth of heterosexual unmarried couples, Stewart said. While Latinos generally are family oriented, formalized marriage is less common among Latinos than other groups, she said.