Examine patterns of divorce in the UK since 1971 (30 marks)
Legal changes increased divorce Secularisation and changing attitudes
- Legal divorce reforms made divorce - Secularisation reduced stigma
easier and more accessible around divorce and marriage
- 1971 divorce reform act introduced - Religion is seen as less influential,
‘irretrievable breakdown’ marriage viewed as personal, not
- Sharp rise in divorces during the sacred
1970’s - Decline in church weddings and
- 2020 no fault divorce law continued moral pressure to stay married
the trend - Cultural shift enables choice
- Law shapes divorce patterns - not all communities are secular
- Law alone can't explain cultural or - Divorce is still stigmatised in some
emotional influence on divorce countries
Women's employment and independence Rise of lone parent families
- Economic independence empowers - Divorce has increased lone-parent
women to leave unhappy marriages households
- Gershuny- rise in female - More reliant on benefits, higher risk
employment gives more autonomy of poverty and underachievement
- More dual income households - Single mothers often face housing
reduces female dependence on men and financial struggles
- Feminist progress - Women can provide safe, loving
- Mitos + Browne- many women are homes
still in low-paid, insecure jobs - May create strain on welfare system
and child outcomes (new right)
Growth of reconstituted families Competing views on divorce trends
- Divorce leads to blended families - Views differ on whether divorce or
and step parenting negative
- Children adjust to new dynamics, - New right- divorce weakens the
new support networks form nuclear family and moral values
- Step families offer second chances - Murray links divorce to underclass,
and extended kinship crime and fatherlessness
- Flexible modern families, risk of - Liberal feminists see it as progress
conflict, loyalty issues, instability and freedom
- Debate shows divorce is both
liberating and challenging
Legal changes increased divorce Secularisation and changing attitudes
- Legal divorce reforms made divorce - Secularisation reduced stigma
easier and more accessible around divorce and marriage
- 1971 divorce reform act introduced - Religion is seen as less influential,
‘irretrievable breakdown’ marriage viewed as personal, not
- Sharp rise in divorces during the sacred
1970’s - Decline in church weddings and
- 2020 no fault divorce law continued moral pressure to stay married
the trend - Cultural shift enables choice
- Law shapes divorce patterns - not all communities are secular
- Law alone can't explain cultural or - Divorce is still stigmatised in some
emotional influence on divorce countries
Women's employment and independence Rise of lone parent families
- Economic independence empowers - Divorce has increased lone-parent
women to leave unhappy marriages households
- Gershuny- rise in female - More reliant on benefits, higher risk
employment gives more autonomy of poverty and underachievement
- More dual income households - Single mothers often face housing
reduces female dependence on men and financial struggles
- Feminist progress - Women can provide safe, loving
- Mitos + Browne- many women are homes
still in low-paid, insecure jobs - May create strain on welfare system
and child outcomes (new right)
Growth of reconstituted families Competing views on divorce trends
- Divorce leads to blended families - Views differ on whether divorce or
and step parenting negative
- Children adjust to new dynamics, - New right- divorce weakens the
new support networks form nuclear family and moral values
- Step families offer second chances - Murray links divorce to underclass,
and extended kinship crime and fatherlessness
- Flexible modern families, risk of - Liberal feminists see it as progress
conflict, loyalty issues, instability and freedom
- Debate shows divorce is both
liberating and challenging
