Valentine's Day report: seven ways marriage is changing

It seems Valentine's Day, when 10 percent of all marriage proposals take place, is one of the few constants in the institution of marriage. Here are seven ways marriage has changed from 50 years ago, when marriage was between a man and a woman barely into their twenties, of the same race and social class, till death did them part.

5. Rise of interracial marriage

Michael Stravato/AP/File
Hai Nguyen and her husband, Jon Pope, stand outside their home in Houston on May 25, 2010.

Interracial marriage is way up. What – and who – is fueling it?

In 2008, nearly 1 in 7 marriages was interracial or interethnic, more than double the rate of the 1980s, according to a Pew report. Immigrants from Latin America and Asia are driving the trend, along with broad acceptance of interracial marriage.

White-Hispanic couplings account for the greatest proportion of intermarriages, at 41 percent. White-Asian couples make up 15 percent and white-black, 11 percent. But some groups are more likely than others to marry outside their race: Black men (22 percent) and Asian women (40 percent) had the highest rates of intermarriage.

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