By DAVID YOUNT, Scripps Howard News Service

There is a widespread impression that the sexual "revolution" of the 1960s turned sexual morality upside down, devaluing marriage. Granted, easy access to contraception made extramarital sex safer, and the prevailing "If it feels good, do it" mantra also offered this corollary: "If it no longer feels good, end it" -- effectively squeezing the shame out of divorce.

Popular culture would have us believe that American men and women are promiscuous bed-hoppers. But when Time magazine investigated the myth, it discovered that the average American woman has no more than two sex partners in her lifetime, while American men have six -- in each case counting their current spouse.

When Pope Benedict recently offered a place in the Roman Catholic Church to dissident Anglicans, some commentators said the move was reminiscent of a hostile takeover in the corporate world.

To be fair, the pope was simply responding to repeated requests of many members of the Church of England who are disenchanted with their church's acceptance of women priests and gay bishops.

In my home county of Prince William in Virginia, the landscape is dotted with churches. Our houses of worship outnumber restaurants, theaters, golf courses and libraries combined. Nearly every denomination is represented. Moreover, many small businesses and private homes proudly display the American flag.

When Henry Willenborg fathered a child out of wedlock with single mother Pat Bond, it never occurred to him to marry her. Henry was (and is) a Catholic priest, and priests don't marry.

Religion and marriage are alike in this respect: they appeal to the human aspiration to live happily ever after. Nowadays, however, marriage delivers on its promise of permanence to only half of all wedded couples. The remainder ends in divorce.

"Don't marry him!" was the advice all of my wife's friends gave her when we were dating. Had I been merely her friend, instead of her suitor, I would have offered Becky the same counsel.

Arguably, marriage owes more to art than to science, but the good news in our commitment-shy and divorce-prone nation is that there are proven formulas for marital success. We know a great deal about wedlock -- how it works, how much satisfaction it can bring a couple, and how spouses can contribute to its failure.

The British are a restless people, who leave their island kingdom for holidays as often as they can afford the time and expense. For each of the past 30 years my wife and I have exchanged homes each summer with different English and Scottish couples with lovely properties and have never wanted for takers.

My wife and I recently returned from vacation in England, where church bells in cities and villages still summon the faithful to prayer every day. Sadly, in this third Christian millennium, most no longer respond to the call. Religious faith has long since gone out of fashion.