Family breakdown in Pennsylvania prompts faith-based effort to bring marriage back

Pennsylvania families are in crisis, with the commonwealth ranking 34th in the country for family stability, with just over half of prime-aged adults married. The data prompted a pastor-led organization to team up with the Pennsylvania Family Institute (PAFI) to revitalize what they say is a key part of the American Dream: marriage.

The Family Structure Index, a report by the Institute for Family Studies and Center for Christian Virtue that tracks marriage and family across the U.S., found in Pennsylvania that just 53.4% of prime-aged adults are married. The report defines "prime-aged adults" as those between the ages of 25 and 54. This stands in sharp contrast to Utah, the state ranked first on the list, where 65.6% of prime-aged adults are married.

"Fundamentally, marriage leads to upward mobility, it leads to higher levels of life satisfaction, greater levels of happiness, more stability for kids, lower levels of loneliness, you name it. It's heavily correlated with lots of great life outcomes," Communio founder and president JP De Gance told Fox News Digital.

De Gance lamented that in Pennsylvania, and across the U.S., the number of people getting married before age 30 is shrinking. The average age of marriage in the U.S. as of 2025 was 32, according to wedding website The Knot. This has been the case since 2023, but in 2022 the age was slightly lower, at 31, the company noted. De Gance noted that this could be an issue for fertility.

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"We know that fertility, for instance, tends to decline in women beginning at around age 30. In fact, a 35-year-old pregnancy is, according to obstetrics, a geriatric pregnancy," De Gance said. "If you get married before the age of 30, and you have that first child before the edge of 30 your likelihood of having the number of kids that you desire is also more likely."

De Gance also said that "too few kids" in the commonwealth are being raised in intact homes. The Family Structure Index showed that 61.9% of teens in Pennsylvania are raised in an intact household, meaning their parents are married. De Gance said reversing those trends will require a cultural shift, which he believes can start at a local level.

Communio, which focuses on helping churches maintain healthy marriages and families within communities, is now teaming up with PAFI to help families in Pennsylvania. The organizations aim to mobilize churches across the state using a data-driven model to strengthen relationship outcomes. Communio and PAFI expect thousands of couples to engage with the initiative through church-based groups.

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"The data makes clear that when families weaken, communities feel it everywhere. We know the solution doesn’t start in Washington; it starts locally. By empowering and supporting churches with practical, results-driven strategies, we’re going to lead a movement that strengthens families in our Commonwealth and reduces the need for government intervention in the first place," PAFI president Michael Greer said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.

De Gance warned that if things don't change in Pennsylvania, the state could see younger residents leave. The number of adults ages 25 to 29 in Pennsylvania declined by 5.4% between 2020 and 2024, according to Penn State researchers, raising concerns about the state’s ability to retain young workers and families.

The decline in marriage and families is also impacting how people view the American Dream. The 2026 Family Structure Index noted that just one in three Americans still believe in the American Dream, pointing to declining homeownership among prime-aged adults as a key factor behind the drop in belief in the American Dream. The index noted that the percentage of prime-aged Americans who own the home they live in went from 67% in 1980 to 48% in 2025.

"Fundamentally, the American Dream has historically been this idea of a guy and a gal get together and they set off on life's great adventure together. And they're able to live a life of financial security and being able to live out a dream where they can raise their kids in a happy and healthy community. And too frequently, our world has convinced young people that marriage is an optional part of life's adventure, that they shouldn't prioritize it," De Gance said, pointing out that many young people have been told to put careers first, rather than marriage.

Still, De Gance is hopeful that the partnership between Communio and PAFI could put the Keystone State back on track.

"We expect to see by 2030, hundreds of churches engaging with us and reaching out to their community, sharing the gospel through the felt need of healthy relationships, marriage and the family," De Gance said.