The paradigm shift I chose to evaluate, is the increase of divorce rates in the United States, and the changed perception of marriage. In the past century, the evolution of the meaning of marriage is a large one. The early 1900s considered marriage more of an arrangement than anything else, and while that view has shifted majorly over the years, the contemporary view of the sacrament is not valued as much as it was only a few decades ago. In the United States alone, it was recorded that roughly forty one percent of first marriages end in divorce, while second and third marriage divorce rates are even higher, sixty and seventy three percent, respectively. The United States is ranked fourth in the world for the highest divorce rates, following Russia, Belarus, and Gibraltar. 

             In comparison to the frequency, as the country entered World War 1 in the 1910s, there was only one divorce within every one thousand Americans. The following decade the rates rose to 1.7, and stayed at less than five percent of American marriages until the end of the 1970s. Within the last nearly fifty years, Americans have increased the rates of divorce drastically. Views on divorce have faced much less resistance in recent years than in the previous decades, and it seems nearly normal now, for a marriage to end in divorce. Many people believe the increased results of this divorce was due to the decreasing value of marriage and the commitment it truly is. With the accessibility to instant Vegas weddings, and online marriage licenses, the importance the sacrament once stood for has been quickly forgotten.

            The millions of Americans who get divorced each year are the sole contributors to this paradigm shift. Entering in marriages either doomed from the beginning, or slowly falling apart throughout, lead to these shocking statistics of separation.  This increase in the divorce rates within the country have only emphasized and encouraged the idea of marriage as a less than valuable and irreplaceable commitment between two people.