And only 34 percent expected it to be good or excellent by 1999. Despite their expressed desire for more family time, two-thirds of those surveyed say they would probably accept a job that required more time away from home if it offered higher income or greater prestige. Sociologist and historian Carle Zimmerman, in his 1947 book Family and Civilization, recorded his keen observations as he compared the disintegration of various cultures with the parallel decline of family life in those cultures. Eight specific patterns of domestic behavior typified the downward spiral of each culture Zimmerman studied. Traditional meaning of the marriage ceremony is lost.
Feminist movements abound.
Increased public disrespect for parents and authority in general. Refusal of people with traditional marriages to accept family responsibilities. Growing desire for and acceptance of adultery. Increasing interest in and spread of sexual perversions and sex-related crimes. Swindoll, The Quest For Character , Multnomah, p. 90.