The fifth annual “Index of Family Belonging and Rejection”, which tracks the number of 15 to 17 year-olds who grow up with married biological parents, has found record numbers of teens living in broken families.

The Family Research Council (FRC) is reporting on the new study, conducted by Patrick F. Fagan, and Christina Hadford of the Marriage and Religion Research Institute (MARRI) which found that only 46 percent of today’s teens are living in an intact home. The remaining 54 percent are living with parents who are no longer married or were never married. These numbers represent a 20 percent decrease since 1950 when 63 percent of teens were living in intact families.

But the statistics for black teens is the worst ever recorded in the study. Only 17 percent of black teens today are growing up with their married mother and father. In comparison, 54 percent of white teens are currently living in an intact family. A panel of experts took a deeper look into these numbers and produced a new report entitled, "State of the Black Family", to call attention to this dire situation.

We all know that marriage is in decline, but experts say the benefits of marriage will never go away.

"Marriage continues to produce as many benefits as ever," Dr. Fagan explained. "(O)nly within marriage will the sexual act produce a stable society. During the last century, many worked to change this by severing sexual intercourse and the begetting of children from marriage. This social experiment has failed and nowhere is it more visible than in the black family and particularly in the plight of many young black men..."

Bishop E.W. Jackson, Senior Fellow at the FRC, believes the report is a wake-up call for churches to do more to support and encourage the black family. "Only God, prayer and a good church led by a good pastor can lead people toward chastity, life-long marriage and a stable family. The black church must lead in this area," he said.

Ken Blackwell, Senior Fellow for Family Empowerment at the FRC is also looking for a way to combat this crisis.

"None of this can be turned around by more and bigger government. No government program can replace the security and love that family belonging provides a child,” Blackwell said. “What can be done? First, do no harm. Or do no more harm. A first but critical step, is putting an end to policies that discourage and penalize marriage -- the only institution that can supply the needs of children."

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