Reply #11: I suspect it's rooted more in poverty than in politics or religion [View All]

When you've got solidly middle-class parents, you have both an example of deferring marriage until you're financially stable and the family support to make it possible.

When you grow up poor and don't have any prospects except finishing high school (with luck) and going to work pumping gas or mining coal, there's no incentive to aim for anything more long-term.

The red states cited in the article are mainly the poorest states as well. And they get back more from the federal government than they pay in taxes for the same reason.

Clinging to god, guns, and traditional values follows on the poverty -- it doesn't cause it. The values serve to validate the lifestyle they're already stuck with. But poverty is the root cause of the rest -- and it's the only place to break the generational cycle.