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There have been debates on whether family morals have declined or not, as regards the comparison between morals in the present time and those in the last decade. Family morals are beliefs that families espouse regarding good or bad, and wrong or right. Morals are considered to be the foundation of discipline, which is helpful in guiding children about their boundaries. Currently, there are sources that confirm that family morals, which are the primary sources of children’s discipline, are declining. Moreover, the sources note that the morals are declining because there are many factors that are overwhelming or incapacitating the family to teach them. The increasing rates of the factors depict that the family morals will continue to decline. In this respect, the essay discusses the assertion that the family morals have declined, as compared to those in the previous decade, and, therefore, they are not the same.
Firstly, atheism and secularism, which are believed to erode both family and religious values, are growing. In this respect, both atheists and secularists posit that nobody can objectively be said to be wrong, and, therefore, everybody should learn how to tolerate others behaviors, regardless of aberration. Consequently, many Americans have been abandoning their commitment to morals, resulting in this period of moral decay. In this regard too, most research institutes have revealed that the number of atheists and secularists is increasingly becoming high. According to the 2007 Pew survey, the number of atheists and secularists in America has increased, when compared to that of the last decade. Moreover, it has been noted that the most secular cohorts are now composed of members of generation Y (individuals with 30 years and younger).Therefore with the increasing secularism and atheism in the world, it is expected that family moral values will continue to decline.
Secondly, the cause of the decline in family moral values has been the increasing rate of divorces. The National Survey of Family Growth (U.S.) for the years 2002-2012, noted that the percentage of marriages among women aged 15-44 that would end up in divorces, annulments or separations, was 29%. The percentage shows that the large portion of current families may not be stable to teach moral values to their children. Moreover, other sources confirm that the current, lifelong probability of marriage to end in divorce has shot up. PolitiFact.com has estimated that between 40%-50% of current marriages may not stay longer in the future. Social researchers now believe that the increasing early loss of virginity in girls in this decade is associated with the occurrences of divorces in their parents. Therefore, as divorces tear apart families, the primary sources of morals are lost, leading to moral decline.
Thirdly, the more the media become profane and explicit, the more they contribute to the declining family morals. According to Content Ministries, the fact that televisions can bombard freely homes viewers with sexually explicit contents, parents’ duties of teaching morals to their children will meet snags. The matter is made worse than ever when most commercials are made by barely clothed people. Furthermore, Smartphone penetration in children is becoming very fast, which is likely to increase their accessibility to the sexualized commercials. Consequently, children are becoming very much addicted to smart phones, and, therefore, consuming a lot of immoral contents. Likewise, Huffington Post reports that parents are becoming more addicted to smart phones and, therefore, leaving children isolated and lonely with nobody to teach them morals. Therefore, the current availability of sophisticated and profane media has also caused moral decline in families.
In conclusion, the above contemporary factors show that the family morals are declining and hence they are not at the same level as they were in the last decade. The factors have been secularism and atheism, cases of divorces and media. Consequently, their rise will have harmful effects on behaviors of children. As already discussed, the factors have been shown by various research institutes to be rising. Their rising rates will incapacitate or overwhelm parents in teaching their children moral values. Although there are other causes of declining moral values as peer pressure and poverty, those discussed have been chosen as the most prevalent in the media. Therefore, presently, family morals have declined and cannot be equated to those of the last decade.
Firstly, atheism and secularism, which are believed to erode both family and religious values, are growing. In this respect, both atheists and secularists posit that nobody can objectively be said to be wrong, and, therefore, everybody should learn how to tolerate others behaviors, regardless of aberration. Consequently, many Americans have been abandoning their commitment to morals, resulting in this period of moral decay. In this regard too, most research institutes have revealed that the number of atheists and secularists is increasingly becoming high. According to the 2007 Pew survey, the number of atheists and secularists in America has increased, when compared to that of the last decade. Moreover, it has been noted that the most secular cohorts are now composed of members of generation Y (individuals with 30 years and younger).Therefore with the increasing secularism and atheism in the world, it is expected that family moral values will continue to decline.
Secondly, the cause of the decline in family moral values has been the increasing rate of divorces. The National Survey of Family Growth (U.S.) for the years 2002-2012, noted that the percentage of marriages among women aged 15-44 that would end up in divorces, annulments or separations, was 29%. The percentage shows that the large portion of current families may not be stable to teach moral values to their children. Moreover, other sources confirm that the current, lifelong probability of marriage to end in divorce has shot up. PolitiFact.com has estimated that between 40%-50% of current marriages may not stay longer in the future. Social researchers now believe that the increasing early loss of virginity in girls in this decade is associated with the occurrences of divorces in their parents. Therefore, as divorces tear apart families, the primary sources of morals are lost, leading to moral decline.
Thirdly, the more the media become profane and explicit, the more they contribute to the declining family morals. According to Content Ministries, the fact that televisions can bombard freely homes viewers with sexually explicit contents, parents’ duties of teaching morals to their children will meet snags. The matter is made worse than ever when most commercials are made by barely clothed people. Furthermore, Smartphone penetration in children is becoming very fast, which is likely to increase their accessibility to the sexualized commercials. Consequently, children are becoming very much addicted to smart phones, and, therefore, consuming a lot of immoral contents. Likewise, Huffington Post reports that parents are becoming more addicted to smart phones and, therefore, leaving children isolated and lonely with nobody to teach them morals. Therefore, the current availability of sophisticated and profane media has also caused moral decline in families.
In conclusion, the above contemporary factors show that the family morals are declining and hence they are not at the same level as they were in the last decade. The factors have been secularism and atheism, cases of divorces and media. Consequently, their rise will have harmful effects on behaviors of children. As already discussed, the factors have been shown by various research institutes to be rising. Their rising rates will incapacitate or overwhelm parents in teaching their children moral values. Although there are other causes of declining moral values as peer pressure and poverty, those discussed have been chosen as the most prevalent in the media. Therefore, presently, family morals have declined and cannot be equated to those of the last decade.