It's love, South Australian style
December 11, 2004
ALMOST three-quarters of South Australian newlyweds have already lived together before going to the altar.
And when couples do get married, it's not in a church.
According to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics this week, more than half of all marriages are performed by civil celebrants.
Demographer and University of Adelaide professor Graeme Hugo said the figures represented a change in society.
"In a number of ways, I think people are more conservative than they used to be," he said.
"They are spending time together before committing to marriage. If they do commit to marriage, they are taking it a bit more seriously."
In South Australia, 7609 marriages were registered in 2003.
Of these, 46.7 per cent were performed by religious ministers and 53.3 per cent were overseen by civil celebrants.
Three-quarters of the couples (5640 of them, or 74.1 per cent) lived together before getting married. The average age of those getting married has also increased over the past few years, with the average for men now 31 years and 29 years for women.
"People are more career orientated at the moment and both partners are often working," Professor Hugo said.
"These changes do not take away from the fact that the family is still significant, but these family situations are different now to 20 years ago."
The SA vice-president of the Australian Family Association, Paul Russell, said it was a concern that people were moving away from traditional marriages.
"The trend to later marriage and also later childbirth is a clear reflection on the difficulties young people have in reaching a financial position where they can form long-term relationships," he said.
"Even though less and less people are attending church and choosing to be married by civil celebrants (it) does not diminish marriage."
Relationships Australia clinical practice leader Grant Pearson said attitudes had changed in the past 30 years.
"People have a lot more options in society now and these options are becoming increasingly socially acceptable," he said.
"People are exploring these options and, therefore, it's no longer a problem to be 30 and single."