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Introduction
A major social trend of the last three decades is the decline in marriage and the rise in cohabitation. Over the last twenty years, the number of marriages has fallen considerably, while there has been a growth in the number of couples living together without marrying. In 1993 the number of marriages in the UK fell to its lowest level for 50 years and one in five unmarried men and women were cohabiting. The stigma attached to cohabiting in the 1990s is far less than it was two or three decades ago.

Consequently, many couples are content to live together. Some regard their relationship as a ‘trial marriage', while others reject the institution of marriage and never plan to marry. Cohabitation has become socially acceptable although it is contrary to the most fundamental teachings of the Christian faith. This acceptance by society is, perhaps, best shown by the way language has changed - the term ‘'partner' is now in common usage. Contemporary society seldom distinguishes between cohabiting partners and married couples.

Trends in cohabitation
Premarital cohabitation
The trend in premarital cohabitation shows that in the mid-1960s around 5% of single women lived with their future husband before marriage. By the 1990s about 70% were cohabiting prior to marriage. In the case of women marrying a second time in the 1990s, about 90% will cohabit before their second marriage.

Prevalence of cohabitation

Prevalence refers to the proportion of people in society cohabiting at a particular point in time. The proportion of single women cohabiting in 1979 was 7.5%, and this had more than trebled to 23% by 1993. Divorced men have the highest rates of cohabitation - in 1993 over 40% were in such a relationship. Taking all unmarried people together, over one in five were cohabiting in 1993 compared to one in seven in the mid-1980s.

The duration of cohabitation

The General Household Survey provides information on the length of cohabitation. Of...