The marriage rate in the United States has consistently declined in the past 50 years while the percentage of children growing up with one parent has increased. If this doesn’t seem alarming to many of us today, it’s because we have a very different idea of marriage than the one that existed in the past. Until recently, marriage has been regarded as the means for starting a family and raising children. A decline in marriage means a decline in the only institution that can raise a new generation of people and ensure that they have the personal qualities and support necessary to succeed and be good individuals.

The media’s reporting on Hobby Lobby made it seem like the Supreme Court decision was nothing more than a conflict between religious liberty and women’s rights. The reality is more complicated, though not so complicated that we can excuse the hysterical reactions.