SCRIPTURE AND SCIENCE:

The Mexican sociologist Fernando Pliego has examined the sociological evidence on the question of whether the current multiple "family" structures produce the same level of well-being. He gathered together all of the reliable studies on this question that had been carried out in 13 democratic countries. He found 351 studies that relied upon censuses, national surveys and  scientific studies of 800 cases or more to compare different family structures. These contained some 3,318 statistical analyses of data on health, education, poverty, access to basic services, family violence, sexual violence, suicide or addictions rates, etc., comparing these various structures.

The results of these studies, carried out in 13 different countries located on five different continents, are astonishingly consistent. Nearly all demonstrate that where a father and mother are living together with their natural or adopted children there are tremendous benefits. The members of these traditional families enjoy better physical health, less mental illness, higher incomes, and steadier employment. They and their children live in better housing, enjoy more loving and cooperative relationships, and report less physical or sexual violence. Moreover, when the bonds between parents and children are more positive, drug, alcohol and tobacco use is lower, children are better socialized and cooperative, they commit fewer crimes, and they perform better in school.

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