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Cultural Insights
Why these stats?
Each of the group of statistics below is offered to aid preachers in better understanding the
cultural trends of American life.
Before each group of statistics are suggested ways in which preachers may find these numbers
helpful. - Mary Hulst
Unmarried and Single (show | hide)
Here are some statistics, provided by the latest US census:
"National Singles Week" was started by the Buckeye Singles Council in Ohio in the 1980s to celebrate single life and recognize singles
and their contributions to society. The week is now widely observed during Sept. 19-25 as "Unmarried and Single Americans Week," an
acknowledgment that many unmarried Americans do not identify with the word "single" because they are parents, have partners or are
widowed.
When we think of our church members, we often imagine them to be connected to a spouse and/or children. Our sermon illustrations may often come from our own family life. But a look at the statistics below remind us that many in our pews are single (43% of all US residents age 15 and older). Some are single due to divorce or the death of a spouse, while others have never married. As we consider illustrations and applications in our messages, we need to be intentional in considering those who live alone.
Singleness
95.7 million
Number of unmarried and single Americans. This group comprises 43 percent of all U.S. residents age 15 and over.
54%
Percentage of unmarried and single Americans who are women.
63%
Percentage of unmarried and single Americans who have never been married. Another 23 percent are divorced, and 14 percent are widowed.
14.5 million
Number of unmarried and single Americans age 65 and over. These older Americans comprise 15 percent of all unmarried and single people.
50%
Percentage of adults in New York who are unmarried, the highest rate of any state.
27%
Percentage of formerly married people (widowed, separated or divorced) in Gary, Ind.; Birmingham, Ala.; and Clearwater, St. Petersburg and Hollywood, Fla. These cities are among cities of 100,000 or more residents with the highest rates of formerly married people.
86
Number of unmarried men age 15 and over for every 100 unmarried women in the United States.
114
Number of unmarried men for every 100 unmarried women in Alaska, the highest ratio of men to women among all states.
118
Number of unmarried men for every 100 unmarried women in Paradise, Nev., an unincorporated suburb of Las Vegas. This is one of the highest ratios of any place with 100,000 or more people. Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Tempe, Ariz.; and Sunnyvale and Santa Ana, Calif., follow.
52.6 million
Number of households maintained by unmarried men and women. These households comprise 48 percent of households nationwide.
28.8 million
Number of people who live alone. These one-person households comprise 26 percent of all U.S. households. Parenting
33%
Percentage of births in 2002 to unmarried women. The rate varies from 89 percent for unmarried teenagers ages 15 to 19 to 12 percent for unmarried women ages 30 to 44.
12.2 million
Number of single parents: 10 million single mothers and 2.2 million single fathers.
43%
Percentage of opposite-sex, unmarried partner households that include children.
683,000
Number of unmarried grandparents who are responsible for caring for their grandchildren. These grandparents comprise nearly 1-in-3 unmarried grandparents.
Unmarried Couples
5.5 million
Number of unmarried-partner households in 2000. These households consist of 4.9 million opposite-sex partners and about 600,000 partners of the same sex. This is up from 3.2 million in 1990.
39 years old and 37 years old
Average ages of unmarried male and female partners, respectively, in Florida - oldest of any state.
8.1%
Percentage of households in Paterson, N.J., that are opposite-sex, unmarried-partner households. Paterson; Manchester, N.H.; and Rochester, N.Y., had the highest rates of this type of household in the country among cities with 100,000 or more people. Cities with the highest percentage of same-sex, unmarried partner households are San Francisco (2.7 percent), Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (2.1 percent); and Seattle, Wash. (1.9 percent).
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Television (show | hide)
Our source for sermon illustrations, entertainment, and a regular reminder of all that is bad (and good) in America. But how much do we actually watch? And who is watching? While we can use these stats in sermons to suggest that people are watching too much TV, it is interesting to note that while our impressions may be that the younger ones are those glued to the set, in fact it is those 65 and older who spend the most time watching. What does this say about how are senior church members are spending their time? About their loneliness? About their knowledge of American culture? A look at the amount we spend on cable also raises questions about whether this form of entertainment is good stewardship. All statistics from www.census.gov.
Tuned In
248 million
The number of television sets in U.S. households in 2001.
87.3%
The percentage of households with at least one TV in 1960. (From the 1960 census - not available online.)
98.2%
The percentage of households with at least one TV in 2001.
2.4
The average number of TVs per home in 2001.
1,669
The projected number of hours that adults (age 18 and older) will watch television in 2004. This is the equivalent of about 70 days.
94.3%
The percentage of people age 18 and over who said they watched television in the spring of 2002. Older Americans (age 65 and over) were more likely to be glued to the tube (97 percent) than any other age group.
92%
The percentage of children ages 6 to 11 whose parents in 2000 imposed at least one rule for watching TV, such as types of programs watched, how early or late the children could watch and the number of hours watched. The percentage dropped to 73 percent for children ages 12 to 17.
$255.18
The projected spending per person for cable and satellite TV in 2004.
$34.71
The estimated average monthly rate for cable TV in 2002.
The Television Industry
$11.7 billion
The annual payroll for the 245,000 employees of 6,692 cable TV networks and program distribution firms in the United States in 2001.
1,937
The number of television broadcasting networks and stations in the United States in 2001.
31,235
The number of people working behind the lens as television, video and motion picture camera operators and editors, according to Census 2000.
$10.7 billion
The payments by television broadcasting firms for broadcast rights and music license fees in 2001. Such payments constitute the biggest expense of TV broadcasters. The next highest expense was the annual payroll, $6.5 billion.
$41.8 billion
Amount spent on television advertising in 2002, up from $38.9 billion in 2001.
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Women (show | hide)
March is women's history month and since most preachers are male (though there are 56,000 female clergy in the US), the intentional use of gender-inclusive illustrations and applications-and even gender specific ones-will only strengthen the reception of our messages. www.census.gov
In 1981, the U.S. Congress passed a resolution establishing National Women's History Week. The week was chosen to coincide with the annual International Women's Day, March 8. In 1987, Congress expanded the week to a month; it has issued a resolution every year since then proclaiming March to be Women's History Month. The U.S. president also issues an annual proclamation on this occasion.
Jobs
63%
Chances are your taxes will be prepared by a woman as this is the percentage of tax preparers who are women.
83%
The likelihood of a woman helping you plan your next vacation also is great, as this is the percentage of travel agents who are female.
97%
With Secretaries Day around the corner (April 21), it is worth noting that this is the percentage of secretaries and administrative assistants who are women.
250,000
Estimated number of female lawyers. About 16,000 are non-Hispanic black, 9,000 are non-Hispanic Asian and 11,000 are Hispanic. Among the 189,000 women physicians and surgeons, 13,000 are non-Hispanic black, 36,000 are non- Hispanic Asian and 10,000 are Hispanic. Of the 6,000 female legislators, about 870 are non-Hispanic black, 110, non- Hispanic Asian and 250, Hispanic.
78,000
Estimated number of female police officers. There also are more than 8,500 female firefighters.
57%
Percentage of advertising and promotions managers, public relations managers and accountants and auditors who are women.
Women are employed in a wide range of occupations. Below are some examples:
| Occupation | No. Of Employees | Occupation | No. Of Employees |
| Post-secondary teachers | 531,000 | Architects | 39,000 |
| Bus drivers | 253,000 | Dancers and choreographers | 23,000 |
| Chief executives | 212,000 | Private detectives/investigators | 22,000 |
| Bakers | 87,000 | Aircraft pilots and flight engineers | 5,000 |
| Athletes/coaches/umpires | 62,000 | Astronomers and physicists | 3,000 |
| Musicians/singers | 61,000 | Explosives workers | 1,000 |
| Clergy | 56,000 | Ship/boat captains | 1,000 |
| Producers and directors | 52,000 | Nuclear engineers | 700 |
| Chefs/head cooks | 48,000 | News analysts/reporters/correspondents | 44,000 |
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The Presidential Election (show | hide)
It's that time again. While many of us wisely exercise caution in preaching about politics or praying for particular candidates, the following statistics are a reminder of how few of our church members actually vote-although if they didn't vote, they'll tend to lie and say that they did. (Perhaps a sermon on truth-telling for politicians and the people who [say they] vote for them would be applicable.) Other ministry opportunities may include a 'get out the vote' transportation service on election day or a voter registration table at a church function. Remember, though, that advocating a particular candidate can create problems that no church wants to face (including discord among members and questions about a church's tax status). www.census.gov
State Turnout Trends
In both Iowa, home of the first-in-the-nation political party caucus, and New Hampshire, home of the firstin- the-nation party primary, 67 percent of citizens voted in the 2000 presidential election.
In 2000, the highest voting rates were found in the District of Columbia, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Maine and Minnesota, each at or about 70 percent.
National Turnout Trends
60
Percentage of eligible voters who cast their ballots in the November 2000 presidential election, slightly higher than the 58 percent who voted in 1996.
70
Percentage of citizens who were registered to vote in 2000, compared with the 71 percent registered in 1996.
111 million
The number of people who voted in the 2000 presidential election, short of the record high of 114 million set in 1992.
86
Among citizens registered to vote in the 2000 presidential election, the percentage who reported they cast ballots, up from 82 percent in 1996.
61
Percentage of eligible women voters who voted in the 2000 presidential election. That is higher than the 58 percent of men who voted.
72
Percentage of citizens ages 65 to 74 who voted in the 2000 presidential election. This age group has the highest voting participation of any age group.
21
Among people who said they were registered to vote in 2000 but did not actually vote, the percentage who gave as a reason that they were too busy or had conflicting work or school schedules. This was the most common reason given for not voting.
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Abortion (show | hide)
Regardless of the stance you, your congregation, or your denomination takes on this issue, it is important to know the truth about abortion practices in the US. Because of the emotion-laden discourse around this topic, the facts often get buried beneath the rhetoric. The statistics that follow are provided by The Alan Guttmacher Institute (www.guttmacher.org):
What is important for preachers to realize is that at current rates, about 1 in 3 American women will have had an abortion by the age of 45. 61% of those women already have children. 78% report a religious affiliation (43% Protestant, 27% Catholic, and 8% other). This means that there are many women in our pews who have undergone an abortion. Are our sermons alienating them? Forcing them to keep their health history a secret? Are we seeking to be inclusive in our messages toward those who have had abortions?
Also of note: half of all pregnancies in the US are unintended. How may this affect our support of families for whom an unintended pregnancy seems more than they can bear, financially, emotionally, or in other ways? (Another thought: half of all the babies you baptize were the result of an unintended pregnancy.)
Some more things to consider:
- Roe v. Wade is the 1973 US Supreme Court decision that recognized that a woman has a constitutional right to decide whether to continue her pregnancy. The Court also ruled, however, that after fetal viability, states may restrict or ban abortions entirely, expect when necessary to protect the woman's life or health.
- In 1992, in Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, the Supreme Court upheld what it termed the "essential holding" of Roe v. Wade. However, the ruling significantly weakened the legal protections previously afforded women and physicians by giving states the right to enact restrictions that do not create an "undue burden" for women seeking abortion.
- The very small group of American women who are at risk of experiencing an unintended pregnancy but who are not using contraceptives account for almost half of all abortions (46% in 2000).
- Fewer than 0.5% of women obtaining abortions experience a complication, and the risk of death associated with abortion is about one-tenth that associated with childbirth.
- In 2000, 6.3 million of the 62 American women of reproductive age (15-44) became pregnant. 64% of these pregnancies resulted in live births and 21% in abortions; the remaining 15% ended in miscarriage.
- About 95,000 women younger than 18 had abortions in 2000.
- In the US, about half of all pregnancies are unintended, and half of unintended pregnancies are terminated by abortion.
- Abortion is becoming less common in the US. After increasing between 1973 and 1980, the abortion rate has been declining overall and for most subgroups. However, it increased in 2000 among poor and low income women.
- 6 in 10 US women having abortions are already mothers. More than half intend to have (more) children in the future.
- Abortion rates are much less related to legal status than they are to levels of unintended pregnancy. In many countries in which abortion is illegal but intended pregnancy is widespread-for example, Chile, Peru, Nigeria and the Philippines-the abortion rate is higher than the US. Some of the world's lowest abortion rates are in western European countries, where abortion is legal and covered by national health insurance systems, but where level of unintended pregnancies are very low.
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Teen Sex and Pregnancy (show | hide)
Those of us who preach to younger audiences need to be aware of the sexual practices of this group. Not only will this aid our preaching (by reminding us to include them in our calls to holy living and invitations to forgiveness as well as in our reminders of the beauty of human sexuality), but an awareness of the sexual practices of teens will prepare us to offer appropriate pastoral care to those who have higher chances of unintended pregnancies and of acquiring an STD.
The statistics that follow are provided by The Alan Guttmacher Institute (www.guttmacher.org):
- 8 in 10 girls and 7 in 10 boys are sexually inexperienced at age 15.
- By the age of 17, more than half have had intercourse.
- About 1 in 5 young people do not have intercourse while teenagers (4 in 5 do).
- While 93% of teenage women report that their first intercourse was voluntary, 25% of those young women report that it was unwanted.
- A sexually active teenager who does not use contraceptives has a 90% chance of becoming pregnant within one year.
- Every year 3 million teens-about 1 in 4 sexually experienced teens-acquire an STD.
- In a single act of unprotected sex with a with an infected partner, a teenage woman has a 1% risk of acquiring HIV, a 30% risk of getting genital herpes, and a 50% chance of contracting gonorrhea.
- In some studies, up to 15% of sexually active teenage women have been found to be infected with the human papillomavirus, many with a strain of the virus linked to cervical cancer.
- 6 in 10 teen pregnancies occur among 18-19 year olds.
- Of the 905,000 teenage pregnancies in 1996, 56% ended in birth, 30% in abortion, and 14% in miscarriage.