June is Fidelity Month — a time to celebrate faithfulness to God, our spouses and families, our communities, and our country. At a moment when our culture increasingly celebrates autonomy and self-fulfillment, fidelity can seem old-fashioned. Yet the evidence points in the opposite direction.
Faithful marriages are associated with better physical health, greater emotional well-being, increased financial stability, and deeper happiness. That’s because fidelity is more than a promise. It is the foundation of trust. It creates the security that allows husbands, wives, and children to flourish.
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In fact, a recent article in the Health & Science section of the Washington Post declared that “getting married can be good for your health.” Research shows that relationships generally improve overall health by reducing stress and increasing longevity, and the article points out that marriage itself may come with unique health benefits.
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Specifically, married people have lower rates of cardiovascular disease, mental health struggles, and even certain cancers. According to Dr. Shannon Markus of Dell Seton Medical Center at the University of Texas, “Married people do tend to live longer and spend more years healthy on average.”
One reason is simple: committed marriages provide social and emotional support. Spouses encourage one another to seek medical care, make healthier choices, and persevere through life’s challenges. Marital relationships, according to therapist Mitchell Hale, “allow for the cultivation of joy, intimacy, laughter and other positive emotions and experiences in our daily lives.”
The article further notes that men appear to experience especially significant benefits from marriage. Research from the National Institutes of Health shows that marriage decreases risky behavior in men. Married men have lower rates of substance abuse, including alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco use, than their single, divorced, or separated peers. Studies have also found that marriage can reduce antisocial and illegal behavior in men by roughly a third.
Having a loving wife who provides emotional support and encourages healthy habits can improve a man’s physical and mental well-being. But the benefits extend beyond health. According to the St. Louis Federal Reserve, married men earn more than their unmarried counterparts. Strong marriages often contribute to healthier and more financially stable families.
Women benefit from strong marriages as well. According to research from the Institute for Family Studies, married women are less likely to report feelings of loneliness, and married mothers are more likely to describe themselves as “very happy.” While marriage appears to affect men and women differently in some respects, both benefit from the stability, companionship, and support that healthy marriages provide.
Sadly, marriage rates in the United States have declined in recent decades, and couples are waiting longer to marry and have children. These trends may be contributing to growing dissatisfaction and isolation. Gallup research shows that married people are far more likely to be thriving in their overall well-being than those who have never married, are divorced, or are living with a domestic partner.
The Washington Post article concludes by noting that it is not merely marriage itself that matters, but the quality of the marriage. This is where fidelity becomes essential. The benefits associated with marriage do not arise from a marriage license alone. They grow out of the trust, commitment, and security that faithful spouses build over time.
According to Ana Samuel, writing in Public Discourse, dedicated marital commitment produces profound psychological benefits. “Once the promise to be faithful, exclusive, and permanent is given, and after some time living that way, couples experience a deep sense of psychological peace.” When spouses know their commitment is secure, trust flourishes. Neither person must wonder whether the other is losing interest, looking elsewhere, or planning to leave.
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By contrast, Samuel argues that relationships lacking promises of faithfulness, exclusivity, and permanence are more vulnerable to insecurity, instability, and dissolution. Fidelity matters because trust matters.
In a culture that often treats commitment as restrictive, Fidelity Month reminds us of a different truth: faithfulness helps people flourish. Strong, faithful marriages are associated with better health, greater happiness, stronger families, and more stable communities. Fidelity is not merely a moral ideal. It is one of the foundations of human flourishing.
Kristen A. Ullman, J.D., is president of Eagle Forum and previously served as Legislative Director for U.S. Sen. John Ashcroft and as Deputy Associate Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice.