Does religion help couples stay together?
I’m often asked if Christians have lower divorce rates than anyone else. Although I point out that I don’t know of any UK studies on this, evidence from the US is fairly mixed that religion – or ‘religiosity’ as it’s usually called in the academic papers – is linked to higher rates of stability. In […]
Muslim women have winning recipe for relationship success
PRESS RELEASE FROM MARRIAGE FOUNDATION Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain stunned the programme’s contemporary audience with her traditional views on family and her pride in her role providing for her husband and children. Despite her husband being chosen for her by her parents, Nadiya chose to renew her vows to her husband in […]
It’s time to ditch useless family interventions and back marriage
This article was first published 18 October 2016 on ConservativeHome As if we needed more evidence that government is hopeless at running large scale family interventions, this week’s report from think tank NIESR reveals that the government’s flagship ‘Troubled Families’ programme has had no impact whatsoever across a range of outcomes. The evaluation ‘was unable to find consistent evidence […]
Proof that monthly date nights work … but only if you’re married!
I’m not sure I’d be taking marriage advice from Katie Price. But according to a recent interview, one thing she swears by is the idea of a “date night” to keep her third marriage on track. Relationship commentators and marriage educators agree. Google the words “date night” and any number of articles pop up exhorting […]
Michael Phelps & Nicole Johnson
After winning 23 gold medals over the course of several Olympic Games, it’s now time for the American competitive swimmer, and the most decorated Olympian of all time, Michael Phelps to focus on another monumental chapter in his life: getting married to his Fiancée Nicole Johnson. Phelps met the former Miss California in 2007 while she […]
Optimism renewed: The prospect of a family policy that helps families stay on the ladder?
Some ten years ago, I remember sitting in the audience at a boys club in the east end of London, just feet away from new Tory leader David Cameron as he gave a brilliant note-free inaugural speech. As the world’s press – and I – looked on, he talked passionately of his social justice mission […]