Marriage is what really matters

Published April 17, 2026 1:35pm ET | Updated April 17, 2026 1:35pm ET



America’s cultural foundations are cracking. Marriage has been redefined and weakened, the family cast aside as outdated, and traditional ideas of manhood attacked as toxic. The result is a nation of lonely, disconnected individuals — unhappier, less stable, and increasingly unable to sustain the free institutions that made America exceptional.

Timothy Goeglein’s new book, What Really Matters: Restoring a Legacy of Faith, Freedom, and Family, understands this reality with refreshing clarity. Goeglein, a longtime advocate for family policy and former vice president at Focus on the Family, has collected his columns into a compact, powerful manifesto that puts marriage at the center of national renewal. This is not an abstract lament about cultural decay. It is a practical, data-rich argument that the path back to a flourishing America runs straight through stronger marriages, stronger families, and the faith that sustains them.

Trusted reporting.Unlimited access.

Subscribe for full access to Washington Examiner coverage, expert political analysis, and subscriber-only journalism.

Get Unlimited Access

Already a member? Log in

Cancel anytime.