Western countries face a significant dilemma due to declining marriage and birth rates, with young people of both genders avoiding familial bonds and opting for illicit relationships that satisfy sexual desires without the responsibilities of bearing or raising children. This trend is compounded by the rise of homosexuality and the growing influence of feminist movements advocating liberation from familial and maternal roles.

This predicament has driven some countries to announce initiatives encouraging marriage, even offering attractive incentives to facilitate it, as a means of escaping the specter of aging populations and declining numbers of new births—a situation threatening these countries with massive social, demographic, and economic challenges.

For example, Slovenia has seen marriage rates drop dramatically to 3.1 marriages per 1,000 people, followed by Italy at 3.2, and Portugal at 3.3, according to European Commission (Eurostat) data.

The situation is not much different across the rest of Europe, with France recording a marriage rate of 3.5 per 1,000 in 2019, Spain at 3.7, the Netherlands at 3.8, Belgium at 3.9, Bulgaria at 4.0, and the United Kingdom at 4.4 per 1,000.

Meanwhile, Greece recorded a rate of 4.7, Finland and Ireland 4.8, Croatia and Estonia 4.9, Germany and the Czech Republic 5.0, Austria and Poland 5.1, Sweden 5.2, Denmark 5.5, and Slovakia 5.8 per 1,000 people.

These rates have led, for instance, to the average age of residents in northern Italy reaching 60 years, signaling a growing aging population that may soon halt industrial and production activity in this European country, which faces the threat of demographic collapse.

As a result, in addition to Italy, other European nations are suffering from a severe labor shortage due to declining birth rates, with the average number of children per woman at just 1.5, according to Eurostat.

A study by the U.S.-based Center for Global Development estimates that the European Union will need more than 43 million foreign workers by 2050.

These consequences extend beyond labor shortages, as fertility rates in Europe have dropped to levels that no longer guarantee generational renewal, according to France's Le Figaro newspaper.

In response, European governments have launched various programs to support families, including financial aid of around 100 euros per child per month, as well as maternity and paternity leave of up to nine months with 70% salary compensation, in an attempt to encourage Europeans to marry and have children.

Minority of Married People

According to a British study, married individuals have been a minority in Britain since 2008, with nearly half of all new births occurring outside of marriage, as reported by the Daily Mail.

The European Statistics Office states that 43% of births in the European Union occur outside of marriage. France leads the list with 60%, followed by Bulgaria and Slovenia at 59%, Estonia at 56%, Sweden at 55%, Denmark at 54%, Portugal at 53%, and the Netherlands at 50% in 2016.

These rates have been on the rise; for example, France recorded an increase to 65% of births outside of marriage in 2022, according to the French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies.

In addition to the increase in illegitimate births, there has been a rise in divorce rates, family breakdown, and the emergence of new family structures, such as divorced parents living together outside of marriage, single mothers with children from multiple fathers, and families composed of same-sex partners.

This bitter reality has prompted Pope Francis to criticize European families' tendencies to prioritize raising dogs and cats over having children. In one of his sermons, he remarked, "We see people who do not want children or have only one child, but they have two dogs and two cats instead! Yes, dogs and cats replace children for them!"

The Pope’s warning carried deep concerns about population decline and the diminishing presence of Christianity in Europe in favor of Islam, as the number of Muslims in several countries could reach a majority within two or three decades.

A recent study warns of Europe's population decline, with each generation shrinking by 25%, leading to a loss of 50 million people across the continent by 2050, according to Germany's Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research.

Conversely, Islam appears prepared to take the lead as the fastest-growing religion, with its followers expected to reach 3 billion globally, overtaking Christianity as the world’s largest religion by 2050, according to The Guardian.

In conclusion, societies rejecting marriage, promoting extramarital freedom, or normalizing fornication and homosexuality—contrary to all divine laws—are increasingly reaping bitter consequences. They face the burden of aging populations, labor shortages, economic stagnation, and potentially a demographic and political shift favoring other nationalities and religions, ultimately losing their majority status.

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