Albert Mohler: "Fathers Are Not Fungible" -- Why Fathers Matter
Monday, June 18, 2007

Father's Day is fast becoming America's most socially awkward holiday. The reason is very simple -- the culture increasingly sees fathers as accessories, not as necessities.

In some communities, as many as eighty percent of all babies are born to single mothers. A host of Hollywood actresses and entertainment figures have opted to have babies without husbands or fathers. Added to this, the local sperm bank now makes all this possible with a man's contribution restricted to an anonymous background role.

What is lost in all this? W. Bradford Wilcox of the University of Virginia argues that fathers play an essential role in the raising of children. His recent study, "Religion, Race, and Relationships in Urban America," suggests that fathers play a very important role in five specific domains of children's lives. the rest