Contact: Don Feder, 508-405-1337, don@worldcongress.org; The Howard Center for Family, Religion & Society, 815-964-5819, media@worldcongress.org

ROCKFORD, Ill., May 8, 2013 /Standard Newswire/ -- The theme of World Congress of Families VII in Sydney, Australia is "Happy Families, Healthy Economy: A New Vision for National Prosperity and Social Progress."

WCF Managing Director Larry Jacobs cited a wealth data of which confirms the Congress theme: "Saving rates are highest -- and poverty rates significantly lower -- among intact married families.  Married couples with children have higher median incomes.  Married couples have the greatest net worth.  Even among lower-income wage earners, married men are more likely to be employed than those who are cohabiting.  Overall, men who marry increase their earning power by 25%.  Children from these families do significantly better in school than those from any other family unit, leading to higher productivity later in life. Children from intact, married families, who attend religious services weekly, are more likely to finish high school and college than those from other families."

"The scientific research confirms what common sense dictates," Jacobs declared. "Married couples form a committed partnership that promotes higher-earnings. Married couples with children have more of a stake in the future than singles or those in other relationships. This encourages a future-orientation, sacrifice and what economists call 'deferred consumption,' which promotes economic progress and more wealth for everyone.  Even more important is the data that shows that the highest rates of happiness, good health, and mental well-being correspond with intact married families that practice their religious faith.  In summary, every measure ever studied by the social sciences confirms that the natural families are the happiest families and raise the happiest children.  This is because of the greater spiritual prosperity and material wealth, thus leading to real longer-term happiness or what might be better called joyful families!"

Plenary and concurrent sessions at World Congress of Families VII (Sydney, May 15-18) include: The Healthy Economy, Growth with a Purpose -- The Family in  a Diminishing Economy, Can We Prosper with Small Families? -- Economic Priorities for a Pro-Family, Child-Rich Future -- Work, Family Life and Social Cohesion -- The Economic Rationale for Government to Invest in Family Stability -- The Economic and Social Cost of Abortion -- Family Based Taxation: Helping Restore the Family Wage -- and a workshop on Government Policy to Strengthen Marriage and the Family.

Speakers will include: Ian Harper (one of Australia's best known economists), Steven Mosher (Population Research Institute), John Ballantyne (Australia Institute of Company Directors), Patrick Parkinson (professor of law, University of Sydney), Peter Meurs (Director of Development, Fortescue Metals Group) and Pat Fagan (one of the foremost international authorities on the social impact of family cohesion).

Jacobs added: "Prior to World Congress of Families VII, we've never had an economic theme -- or such a heavy emphasis on economic issues, especially the vital connection between family stability and prosperity. WCF VII will be a groundbreaking Congress in every way."

World Congress of Families is the largest international gathering of pro-family leaders, activists, scholars, religious figures, professionals and parliamentarians, cutting across religious and national boundaries. Past Congresses have been held in Prague (1997), Geneva (1999), Mexico City (2004), Warsaw (2007), Amsterdam (2009) and Madrid (2012). World Congress of Families VIII is tentatively scheduled from September 10-12 in Moscow, the Kremlin, in 2014.

Specifically, the World Congress of Families seeks to affirm and defend the natural family by shifting the terms of certain key public debates worldwide:

1. From "The family as an obstacle to development" to the "family as the source of social renewal and progress";
    
2. From "overpopulation" to "underpopulation" as the demographic problem facing the 21st century;
    
3. From "the small family and voluntary childlessness as good" to "the celebration of the large family as a special social gift";
    
4. And from religious orthodoxy as a "threat to progress" to "religious orthodoxy as the source of humane values and cultural progress."

Click here for an up-to-date program of WCF Sydney 2013: wcfsydney2013.org.au/program.

Click here for a list of highlighted speakers: wcfsydney2013.org.au/speakers/keynote-speakers.

Click here for more information: wcfsydney2013.org.au.

Click here to register: wcfsydney2013.org.au/registration.

For more information on World Congress of Families, please visit www.worldcongress.org. To schedule an interview with Larry Jacobs, contact Don Feder at 1-508-405-1337.

The Howard Center for Family, Religion and Society (www.profam.org) is located in Rockford, Illinois and is an independent, non-profit research and education center that provides sound scholarship and effective strategies to affirm and defend the natural family, thus renewing a stable and free society.  The Howard Center is the publisher of the journal, "The Family In America" and is also the organizer of the World Congress of Families (WCF) project which is an international network of pro-family organizations, scholars, leaders and inter-faith people of goodwill from more than 80 countries that seek to restore the natural family as the fundamental social unit and the 'seedbed' of civil society (as found in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948).  The WCF was founded in 1997 by Dr. Allan Carlson, President of The Howard Center.  To date, there have been five World Congresses of Families -- Prague (1997), Geneva (1999), Mexico City (2004), Warsaw, Poland (2007) and Amsterdam, The Netherlands (2009).  World Congress of Families VI was held in Madrid, Spain in May 25-27, 2012.  World Congress of Families VII will be held in Sydney, Australia, May 15-18, 2013, www.wcfsydney2013.org.au.