Marriage and family isn’t a huge societal benefit, say young adults.

For the study, researchers from Pew Research asked people whether society is better when people “make marriage and having children a priority.” While nearly half of those polled believed it is, 29 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds thought prioritizing family was a societal benefit. In fact, nearly 7 in 10 Millennials believe “society is just as well off if people have priorities other than marriage and children.”

It should be noted the poll didn’t ask respondents whether they’d like to get married one day or how important it would be to their own personal well-being.

“The only firm conclusion is this,” writes The Atlantic‘s Emma Green. “[Young] people clearly aren’t buying the argument conservative sociologists…have been making for years, that marriage is essential for thriving communities. Society, people seem to think, will be just fine without it.” (The Atlantic)

Paul Asay has written for The Washington Post, Christianity Today, Beliefnet.com and The (Colorado Springs) Gazette. He writes about culture for PluggedIn and wrote the Batman book God on the Streets of Gotham (Tyndale). He recently collaborated with Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family, on his book The Good Dad. He lives in Colorado Springs with wife, Wendy, and his two children. Follow him on Twitter.