Final answer:
Yes, people in the United States are now more accepting of divorce compared to a century ago, with changes linked to the liberalization of divorce laws and shifts in societal norms and values.
Step-by-step explanation:
It is true that people in the United States today are more accepting of divorce than they were a century ago. In the 1960s, the divorce rate was 9.1 per 1,000 married persons, which increased to 22.6 by 1980. The change in attitudes towards divorce is associated with the liberalization of divorce laws and societal shifts, such as women increasingly joining the workforce. Though divorce rates have dropped in recent years, the overall acceptance of divorce as a social norm has risen. Moreover, divorce rates vary by region, with the Northeast having the lowest and the South having the highest divorce rates in the U.S. This can be correlated to marriage rates and the average age at which people marry in these regions. It's also important to note that the decline in divorce rates over the past quarter-century may be linked to factors such as people marrying at an older age, higher levels of education among those who marry, and a decrease in the marriage rate itself.