A recent Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data found that marriage in the United States is declining. According to the analysis , a record high 25% of 40-year-olds in the U.S. have never been married , up from only 6% in 1980.

These latest findings should not come as a surprise, considering America’s modern cultural aversion to the institution of marriage and disregard for the importance of the family.

In Hollywood, consider the sheer volume of shows and movies that romanticize infidelity, or the number of tabloids covering every detail of the latest celebrity divorce. Look no further than headlines in the Atlantic — " What You Lose When You Gain A Spouse " — or the New York Times — " The Married Will Soon Be the Minority " — to highlight the downfalls and minimize the importance of marriage.

Gender ideology further weakens the institution of the family, as the state attempts to drive a wedge between parents and their children. Consider California, which is pushing to penalize parents who don’t call their children by their preferred pronoun, or who disagree with gender ideology. Or further, recall the thousands of public schools across the U.S. that operate under rules that prohibit teachers and administrators from disclosing a student’s gender status to parents without their permission.

As 20th-century sociologist Robert Nisbet wrote, "On no single institution has the modern political state rested with more destructive weight than on the family."

While it is clear that the animosity toward marriage and the family has grown in the decades since Nisbet made this assertion, his conclusion that the family is "the greatest simple element of a creative culture" still remains overwhelmingly true. "It is inconceivable to me," Nisbet wrote, "that either intellectual growth or social order or the roots of liberty can possibly be maintained among a people unless the kinship tie is strong and has both functional significance and symbolic authority."

Tragically, America also faces a fatherlessness crisis, with 18.3 million children (nearly 1 in 4) now growing up without a father in the home. These fatherless children are twice as likely to have mental and behavioral struggles, two times as likely to drop out of school, 20 times more likely to be incarcerated, and 10 times more likely to abuse chemical substances.

In the U.S., the vast majority of single-parent households (80%) are run by women. Additionally, the birth rate of unmarried women has more than doubled since 1980 to 40% of births. Part of this could be a result of an increase in cohabitation (an arrangement that puts couples at a higher risk of divorce ) but also advances in IVF and the rise of elective single motherhood.

Every life, from conception to natural death, is abundantly precious. And though the American dream looks different for every man, woman, and child, we can’t ignore the fact that the strength of the family is what models and encourages young people in our country to succeed.

Consider the success sequence, which, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services , is most often defined by researchers and commentators as "first obtaining at least a high school education, then finding a full-time job, and finally waiting for marriage to have children."

Dr. Ben Carson serves as founder and chairman of the   American Cornerstone Institute .