Source: New York Times
NORWAY, March 24, 2002: Couples in Europe have adopted a non-marriage trend and as a result more and more European children are born out of wedlock. The article states the following statistics, “In Norway, 49% of all births in 1999 were to unwed parents. In Ireland, the figure was 62%. In Britain, it was 38% and in France 41% in 1998.” Even in Catholic Ireland 31% of births were in families outside of marriage. The 31% statistic of Ireland matches that of families in the United States. In what is being called the new social order, children from these unions are not suffering any social stigma which would have been common in the past. Previously, there was a trend toward the first child being born out of wedlock, and the parents later marrying. Now, the parents are never marrying.