Contributed by: kellyseal on Saturday, June 26 2010 @ 09:28 am
Last modified on
Catholic singles who are looking to marry are turning to their religious roots, according to a recent article in The Denver Post[*1] . Rather than looking for matches based on similar interests or careers, they look for people who hold the same faith, values, and outlook.
When it comes to dating, Catholics do have a lot of choice. In 2008, the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life estimated there were 22.6 million single Catholics in the U.S.
Anastasia Northrop, who founded the National Catholic Singles Conference in 2005, explains the high numbers of single Catholics. She believes that "endless choices" have made it easy for people to shy away from marriage. She maintains, "people hesitate to commit because they want to keep their options open."
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Northrop could be right. In the past five decades, the percentage of married men ages 35 to 44 has fallen from 88% in 1960 to 69% in 2007. For women, it has fallen from 87% to 72%. However, the popularity of online dating shows that people seem to be looking for partners, and a growing percentage of online daters are turning to religious dating sites such as CatholicMatch.com.
Perhaps the uncertainty of dating today plays a part. With the number of people remaining single through their thirties and forties, coupled with the high rates of divorce and broken families, people turn to religion for guidance and stability.
This is especially true for Catholic singles. As of 2008, the Pew Forum states that 78 percent of married Catholics were married to other Catholics. The only religious affiliations with higher same-faith unions were Hindus, 90 percent, and Mormons, 83 percent.
According to founders of religious dating sites like CatholicMatch.com, people look to religion because shared faith seems to boost chances of marital success.