Lyman Stone is a husband, father, and follower of Jesus. He is also a PhD Candidate in Sociology at McGill University. As a demographer, Lyman specializes in understanding fertility preferences. On this episode of the podcast, however, we focus primarily on what demographic data tells us about the state of marriage in the United States today. We consider the happiness that marriage brings, the best steps single people can take today to find a mate or be more “marriageable” themselves. Lyman also shares some research related to secularization of children and why you need to worry more about what you teach your kids about Jesus at home than what they are going to learn in college. We also discuss marriage tax penalties and why cohabiting is a terrible idea for anyone who desires marriage in the future.
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Haven’t yet finished listening to the full episode but a lot of the discussion reminds me of thoughts shared by Rob Henderson. He’s a former member of the USAF who went on to graduate from Yale and Cambridge I believe. He is a psychologist that coined the term “Luxury Beliefs” — Luxury beliefs are ideas and opinions that confer status on the upper class, while often inflicting costs on the lower classes.
This speaks to the part of the discussion on the podcast that touched on higher class folks still living in often traditional ways (ex. Marriage, Two Parent Environment) while messaging outwards that those are valueless or even negative values. Virtue signaling of a sort. Outward messaging like the 1960’s but living their own life closer to the 1950’s.
Enjoyed the discussion.