The sanctity of marriage seems to have disappeared with the arrival of the 21st century. While marriage rates have always fluctuated in the past, current events have caused an increase in divorce rates. According to recent statistics from the Census Bureau, the divorce rate in America is around 50%. There are myriad speculations as to why more people aren't staying together. One reason is that people get married for the wrong reasons, such as unplanned pregnancies. Another reason is that women have become more independent so that they are not forced into a marriage in which they are not happy. Finally, lenient divorce laws make it much easier for many couples to divorce. Combined, these three reasons caused the divorce rate to be apparently high and anticipated the trend of increasing divorce. Marriage has long been a sacrosanct tradition interrupted only in moments of greatest desperation. However, nowadays people seem to ignore or simply ignore the vows made during marriage. In the United States, divorce rates are well above many other developed countries due to the fact that our current lifestyle and living habits have made divorce seem like a natural, everyday event. Children whose parents have divorced are four times more likely to divorce themselves, and with the growing population of children who have divorced parents, it is no surprise that the divorce rate trend is on the rise. In these difficult times, people don't get married for the right reasons. Rather than marrying for love and courtship, there is an increase in people marrying due to unplanned pregnancies or just out of sheer desperation. Agreements… half the paper… breaks too easily at the first sign of trouble or some mishap that can be fixed with minimal effort. There are those who also get married for the wrong reasons, whether for an unplanned pregnancy or an arranged marriage. Furthermore, the status of women has changed in the last century, giving them more freedom and willingness to divorce and live independently. Finally, divorce laws have made it especially convenient for people to obtain divorces more easily and promptly. It is thanks to these three factors that the divorce rate is constantly increasing and will not decrease anytime soon. Works Cited Henshaw, Stanley. “Unintended Pregnancy in the United States.” Family Planning Perspectives 30.1 (1998): 24-46. Network. March 7, 2010.Pollitt, Katha. “Working Women: Strength in Numbers.” Nation 289.16 (2009): 10. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Network. March 7. 2010.