Intermarriage is down, perhaps because of recent immigrant influx, says Lichter in online chat

With the number of interracial marriages in the United States slowing down in the past two decades after sharp increases in the mid-to-late 20th century, demographers and sociologists are trying to make meaning of the trend.

Daniel Lichter, the Ferris Family Professor in the Department of Policy Analysis and Management and professor of sociology, shed some light on the changing data and other aspects of interracial marriage in an online discussion, "Racial and Ethnic Intermarriage in the United States," hosted by the Population Reference Bureau May 20. (View a transcript of the conversation at http://discuss.prb.org/content/interview/detail/5061/.)

He noted that for many immigrant groups, intermarriage with whites has been viewed as the completion of one's assimilation to America. But with the influx of new immigrants in recent decades, there is a larger pool of potential marriage partners from one's same ethnic and racial background, which could explain the recent pause in overall intermarriage rates.

Lichter responded to more than 30 questions about religion's influence on intermarriage, intermarriage rates in different regions of the country, attitudes about intermarriage among recent and more established immigrants and its prevalence in same-sex relationships compared to heterosexual unions. Questions came from people in the United States as well as parts of Asia, Africa and Australia.

In response to a question about the social acceptability of interracial couples, Lichter wrote: "From my perspective, the growth of interracial marriages has definitely blurred racial boundaries in the U.S. In fact, I often think of interracial marriage as the spoon that stirs the melting pot. ... They span racial boundaries by interacting on both sides of the racial divide, and more importantly, they bring other friends and family members with them."

He noted later in an interview: "Engaging directly with these questions is an interesting form of outreach, because it helps me to think about these issues outside the academic framework," Lichter said. "You get another perspective on what issues really matter to people."

Lichter, director of Cornell's Bronfenbrenner Life Course Center, has authored numerous papers on interracial marriage and cohabitation in the U.S.

Ted Boscia is assistant director of communications for the College of Human Ecology.

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