A new poll finds that most Americans believe strengthening families is a greater priority than having a cleaner environment or increasing job opportunities.
The poll, released Aug. 30 by the year-old Alliance for Marriage, found that 59 percent of American view the state of the family as “not very strong” or “weak and losing ground,” compared to 40 percent who think it is “reasonably strong” or “very strong and growing.”
Seventy-seven percent of those polled said strengthening families was more important than creating a cleaner environment while 22 percent said creating a cleaner environment was more important. Sixty-four percent of those surveyed said strengthening families was more important than increasing job opportunities while 35 percent thought job opportunities were more important than stronger families.
Only way to go forward
Ninety-two percent of American agreed with the following statement: “We can only go forward in this country if families and family values are strengthened.” Seven percent disagreed and 1 percent did not know or refused to answer.
The Wirthlin Worldwide poll surveyed 1,030 American adults representing a cross-section of the country. The overall margin of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.
“There is a deep and wide consensus in America about the critical importance of the health of families for health of our societies,” said Matt Daniels, executive director of the Alliance for Marriage, an Alexandria, Va. – based social policy organization that includes representatives of a variety of faith groups on its board of advisers.
“This is social issue number one for this nation.”
Other finds by the survey indicate 87 percent would support initiatives encouraging businesses to offer flex-time, job-sharing or home-based work options and 78 percent support requiring counseling for married couples with children who are considering a divorce before a divorce is permitted.
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