Thak you for posting Kurtz's article as well. It states a great deal of information about two European societies. I do not see his numbers making the case for any change to the rate of the dissolution of marriage (a larger historical view at the very least is necessary to determine that). I also see coincidental evidence at best that same-sex unions or marriage were the reason for any acceleration which may have occured. I saw more of a case for social tolerance of any unmarried state and a decline in conservative preachers.
I also still do not believe he makes a case for how these numbers can be applied to other societies, particularly ours. Kurtz presents numbers, I don't challenge the numbers. I just don't feel he made enough of a case to have those numbers support his conclusions.
Rauch addresses the issue of marriage "equivalents" and the toleration of non-marriage living arrangements... that tolerance being a major difference between our society and that of Scandinavia and the Netherlands.
