New Report Highlights the ‘Higher Purpose’ of Children in Society

by Zachary Mettler | December 18, 2024 | Family

Liberals and Libertarians frequently argue that the government should live-and-let-live when it comes to marriage in the United States.

They declare, “The government should get out of the marriage business altogether.” They ask, “Why does the government care what goes on in the bedroom?”

But such views ignore this fundamental truth: The government cares about marriage because the government cares about children. Healthy marriages, families and children are the foundation of a healthy society.

Indeed, children are essential to a healthy and vibrant society. Without children, there is no tomorrow. Children are the next generation of moms and dads, doctors, lawyers, healthcare professionals, ministers, engineers and innovators.

But Americans today simply aren’t having enough kids, which is due in large part to a decline in the marriage rate nationally.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s most recent report, the U.S. fertility rate fell to 1.62 births per woman in 2023 – a decline of 2% from 2022 and a new all-time low. The “replacement rate” for each generation to simply replace itself is 2.1 births per woman.

Part of the reason for this decline is also because many Americans simply don’t value marriage and children as much as they used to.

According to a 2023 survey conducted by Pew Research Center, just 26% of American adults say having children is “extremely” or “very” important to them in living a fulfilling life. Only 23% say the same about being married.

However, a large majority – 71% – say “having a job or career they enjoy” is extremely or very important to them, while 61% say the same about having close friends.

Indeed, most American adults would rather have close friends and a good career over being married with children. Simply put, that’s a recipe for economic problems, societal disaster, loneliness in later years and population collapse.

Given all the dire information above, it’s incumbent upon Christians and conservatives to help educate their follow Americans about the great value of marriage and children.

Matthew Mehan is the Associate Dean & Assistant Professor at Hillsdale College’s Van Andel Graduate School of Government. Mehan has authored a new report examining the benefits children serve in society.

Mehan penned “The Higher Purpose of Children in American Society” report for The Heritage Foundation’s First Principles Essays which provide “Foundational thinking on American political thought.”

He argues that every new child born into America should be celebrated because each child represents a continuation of our way of life:

The introduction of new life, of a child, into a family and thus into the community is a universal joy celebrated even under difficult circumstances, and when a child enters the world, new relationships are made that are the foundation of all justice and our American way of life.

The very presence of a single new human person creates relationships and bonds for which we have many names: mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, grandson, granddaughter, uncle, aunt, cousin, nephew, niece, half-brother, neighbor, and fellow American. … These relationships are the foundation of justice and the rule of law, the signature mark of a democratic republic.

Mehan goes on to observe that children help strengthen the bonds of marriage. “The gift of the child and the results of that parental work to raise, form, and educate the child well together provide powerful motive and consolation to the parents,” he contends.

As evidence that children serve as a blessing to married couples, Mehan cites a letter written by Abigail Adams to her husband, Founding Father and President John Adams, celebrating the birth of their first child, Abigail:

Bless’d with a charming Girl whose pretty Smiles already delight my Heart, who is the Dear Image of her still Dearer Pappa. You my Friend are well acquainted with all the tender feelings of a parent, therefore I need not apologize for the present overflow.

Furthermore, Mehan contends that having and raising children is an indispensable part of the “pursuit of happiness” that all Americans seek to enjoy:

The good life that this country provides, its liberty and good fortune, is made even better, even happier, by the presence of children with whom we can share and transmit these material goods of fortune and the immaterial goods of liberty: justice, equality, and liberty under law.

The motive force of the love of all those dear to us, especially children, leads us to serve both our own needs and the needs of those with whom we are lovingly connected. Children, it is clear, are an indispensable part of this handing on to posterity, this tradition, this constitutionally protected way of life that we name “the pursuit of Happiness.”

Finally, Mehan notes that each child is “a gift from the Creator.” He quotes philosopher Edith Stein who commented that every child “is delivered into the hands of human sculptors.”

She saw in the great Judeo-Christian tradition that every child is a gift from the Creator, a calling to motherhood or fatherhood, and all the other relationships that the appearance of a new child into the hands of his or her parents creates (uncles, aunts, grandparents, teachers, mentors, coaches, etc.).

Mehan closes by noting that children should not be valued by parents – and the government – just for their ability to become productive members of society and increase the number of taxpayers.

Rather, children have a “higher purpose” – continuing our American way of life, strengthening marriage bonds, fulfilling the “pursuit of happiness” and serving as gifts from God Himself.

Indeed, “A greater adoption of the above-discussed considerations, together with a longer study of these matters, will foster the conclusion that our ‘pursuit of Happiness,’ with its infinite desire for goods beyond the material realm, may find some richer if only partial satisfaction in our greater regard for the higher purpose and meaning of children,” he concludes.

Yes, children are a “very good” part of God’s created order. Many members of our society would be much happier and better off if they learned that fundamental truth.

“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
the fruit of the womb a reward” (Psalm 127:3, ESV).

To speak with a family help specialist or request resources, please call us at 1-800-A-FAMILY (232-6459).

Related articles and resources:

Kids: You Gotta Love ‘Em!

Children are a Blessing – Not a Burden

Loving Your Kids for Who They Are

Brad Wilcox: The Correlation Between Marriage, Happiness, and Wealth

Married Mothers and Fathers Are Happiest According to Gold-Standard General Social Survey

Death of the West? U.S. Fertility Rate Falls to Record Low.

Brad Wilcox Exhorts Young People to ‘Get Married’

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