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Why does the world of dating seem so complicated? Lauren Chen, host of Pseudo-Intellectual on Blaze TV, offers some useful navigational tools. It starts with this basic question: what is the purpose of dating? The answer may shock you.

Despite our ever-greater mobility and even more efficient connectivity, sociologists continue to note that Americans struggle to form lasting, fulfilling relationships of all kinds, but especially marriages. We face a very real epidemic of loneliness, one that is, not coincidentally, accompanied by a steady decline in marriage. According to Pew Research, marriage rates have fallen to historic lows over the last 30 years, especially among younger people. At the same time, the typical age at first marriage has climbed to a historic high. Increasingly, Americans who are looking for love can’t find it, at least not in the traditional ways....

NEW YORK, July 5 (C-Fam) Are divorce, cohabitation, same sex marriage, out of wedlock birth and adolescent sex good for women? The latest report from UN Women considers them “a positive reflection of women’s empowerment.” UN Women calls family life “an ambivalent space for women and girls.” “Families can have a darker side: they can be places of violence and discrimination, spaces where women and girls are often denied the resources they need, where they sometimes eat least and last and where their voices are stifled and their autonomy is denied,” the report says, concluding, “As such, the recognition of...

A new study, "The Gendered Division of Housework and Couples' Sexual Relationships: A Reexamination" looks at the sex lives of three types of heterosexual couples: conventional (the woman does 65 percent or more of the housework), egalitarian (the male partner performs 35-65 percent of the housework) and counterconventional (the man performs 65 percent or more of the housework). No more. Today we enjoy "an eroticism of fairness," meaning an equitable arrangement no longer puts a damper on a couple's sex life and, in fact, boosts it slightly. Egalitarian couples had sex an average of 6.8 times per month, the study...

“We are loving, committed and faithful couples just like anyone else.” If you’ve paid the slightest bit of attention to the same-sex marriage debate, you’ve heard this very statement in some iteration. It’s not true by some important measures though. 1. Same-sex male couples are dramatically more likely to be unfaithful than heterosexual couples. 2. Committed lesbian relationships are more likely to break up than both male-male and opposite-sex couples, by dramatic margins. Those are two very important differences, unarguably judging the “we’re no different” dogma incorrect. What support is there for these stark differences? First, it should be noted...

For years, Julie Brinton's days have been filled with sippy cups and skinned knees, and the endless push of getting three young children through dinner time, bath time, bedtime. By the time she crawls into bed each night, she has one thing on her mind: zoning out to an hour or so of TV. But some nights, her husband, Rob, reaches over to rub her shoulders and offer her a back rub. And then Ms. Brinton thinks: "Has it really been three weeks? I guess we should probably have sex." "I will do it for him," says Ms. Brinton, 34,...

WASHINGTON — Same-sex military couples will qualify for full benefits, including government-provided healthcare and housing allowances, as long as they are legally married, under new rules announced by the Pentagon. The requirement for same-sex couples to be married is a shift for the Pentagon, which in February announced that full benefits would be provided to members of the military and same-sex spouses if they attested they were in a “committed relationship.” But Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Wednesday that finding a way for unmarried, long-term couples to qualify for benefits “is no longer necessary,” since a Supreme Court ruling in...

Updated 3:15 p.m. ET- President Barack Obama endorsed the right of same-sex couples to marry on Wednesday, a landmark pronouncement made in light of mounting pressure from gay rights advocates. Obama became the first U.S. president to back the right of gay and lesbian couples to marry, a reversal from views expressed during the 2008 campaign, when he said he opposed same-sex marriage but favored civil unions as an alternative. Obama told ABC News that, after reflection, he had "concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples...

A PRACTICAL CHALLENGE TO HOMOSEXUALS: I challenge the advocates of same-sex marriage and the entire sodomite community to gather themselves in a town exclusive to their perversion and see whether in 100 years they would not be in extinction? “Man has often lost his way, but modern man has lost his address” Gilbert K. Chesterton

Molly Butterworth, a Salt Lake City resident, liked that the 2010 Census form allowed her to identify her "Person 2" as both Chinese and white, correctly reflecting the diversity in her household. She also was pleased she could report that person as her "wife," even though her Massachusetts marriage license is not recognized in Utah.

MOSCOW – One of the Cold War's most famous defectors says Russia probably has about 50 deep-cover couples — and maybe even up to 60 of them — spying inside the United States. Oleg Gordievsky, a former deputy head of the KGB in London who defected in 1985, said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev would know the number of illegal operatives in each target country. The 71-year-old ex-double agent .. "there's usually 40 to 50 couples, all illegal." "The president will know the number, and in each country how many — but not their names," said Gordievsky, .. The FBI announced...

Low-quality females prefer low-quality males, at least in the avian world. This is according to research published in the Royal Society journal Proceedings B, testing female zebra finches' taste in males. As adults, the low-quality females showed a preference for the songs of males of the same quality, and for the male birds themselves. Evolutionary biologists previously thought that females would always opt for the best male available. The study was led by Marie-Jeanne Holveck from the Centre of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology in Montpellier, France. She explained that low- and high-quality birds differ in almost every important characteristic, including...

WASHINGTON, March 24, 2009 – As one spouse tried to navigate the other across a room and through a minefield of foam toys, the games had begun at the Army’s “Strong Bonds” marriage retreat near Baltimore. Army Staff Sgt. Jennifer Garcia and her husband, Army Cpl. Paul Garzon, both with the 704th Military Intelligence Brigade, share a moment while practicing new communication skills learned during the first day of an Army Strong Bonds love retreat, near Baltimore, Feb. 12, 2009. DoD photo by Samantha L. Quigley  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “What these workshops do is it helps...

Same-sex couples from New York whose marriages in Massachusetts faced a legal challenge there have valid marriages in that state, a Massachusetts court found last week, meaning their marriages are presumably legal in New York as well, lawyers say. The court's judgment affects what lawyers say is at least dozens of New Yorkers who married in Massachusetts between May 2004, when Massachusetts began marrying same-sex couples, and July 2006.

ALLENTOWN, Pa.- A couple who grew apart and had agreed to split up were reunited by a life-threatening crisis. After more than 10 years of marriage, Chip and Cindy Altemos agreed about 5 years ago to separate, see other people, and begin divorce proceedings. But when 48-year-old Chip was hospitalized with kidney failure in September, Cindy, 49, offered him one of hers.

OLYMPIA, Wash. - An initiative filed by proponents of same-sex marriage would require heterosexual couples to have kids within three years or else have their marriage annulled. Initiative 957 was filed by the Washington Defense of Marriage Alliance. That group was formed last summer after the state Supreme Court upheld Washington's ban on same-sex marriage. Under the initiative, marriage would be limited to men and women who are able to have children. Couples would be required to prove they can have children in order to get a marriage license, and if they did not have children within three years, their...

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Jan. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- 65 percent of consumers are spending more time with a computer than with their significant other, according to new independent research commissioned by support.com. Conducted by independent research firm Kelton Research, the "Cyber Stress" study confirmed consumers' growing relationship with technology in their everyday lives. In fact, more than 8 out of 10 Americans (84%) say they are more dependent on their home computer now than they were just three years ago(1). Like any relationship, the test comes not when things are going well but when times are tough. And unfortunately in the...

5/1/2006 - HUNT, Texas (AFPN) -- On the banks of the Guadalupe River, a veterans group hosts a retreat that helps couples reconnect so they can better cope with life after deployments. Six couples attended the retreat hosted by the Military, Veteran and Family Assistance Foundation at the Heart of the Hills Camp here from April 20 to 27. “I thought this was going to be very structured -- a mandatory fun kind of thing,” said Senior Airman Aaron Childs, who attended with his wife, Mellissa. “But it’s nothing like that. It’s laid back. Everyone is here to help you.”...

Twenty-five years ago, most men in the Tampa Bay area married by age 35. But since 1980, the number of never-married men 35 to 55 has jumped sevenfold. ST. PETERSBURG - On the eve of his 50th birthday, Robert Mendenhall was trying to decide whether to spend the big day with someone new or with his ex-girlfriend. She had held his interest the longest: eight months. Mendenhall, who works in regional sales for a roofing and window company, hangs out with half a dozen never-married men in their late 40s and early 50s. They are successful at their jobs, keep...

Many times born again believers find themselves accepting the ways of society instead of the ways of God. The temptation to do this is tricky and in many cases has become the norm. You can simply pick up a magazine or turn on the TV, and instantly, you are exposed to compromising lifestyles. We must remember, however, that just because an idea, concept or way of life seems acceptable doesn't mean it is right in God's eyes. Popular shows display people living "cheerfully" in a manner that opposes God and his word. A prime example of this is the cohabitation...