Is Marriage Becoming An Out Dated Institution?

[goodlife]

It is the nature of man not to lead a solitary life but to try to settle down and have children.(mark 10:6-9)

However, marriage has become less and less popular. Is it the divorce rate that scares people off or the way society has changed in recent years?

[Old_Geezer]

Becoming ? It's pointless anyway save as an excuse for evil governments to favour those who comply over those who don't toe the pointless line.

[Graham-W]

Same sex marriages are on the increase. Heterosexual marriages are in decline. Perhaps it will balance out.
In the meantime, there seems to be plenty of children about, although I don't know how that happens without marriage;-))

[jomifl]

Legal marriage confers such financial and legal advantages over co-habiting that couple that have any degree of commitment to each other and don't get married are being foolish in the extreme.

[ludwig]

There seems to be less and less point to being married.

[naomi24]

I like being married so much I did it twice. ;o)

[LazyGun]

I have a similar score, Naomi, which has led me to the diametrically opposite view of your own :) I do not think I am all that good at marriage.

If you are planning to have kids, or have kids, then I think marriage is a good institution - a commitment to each other for a long term partnership, which in turn offers more stability for the children, legal status, all that kind of thing.

Otherwise, I personally think marriage should be a ceremony for family and friends with a short term contract, renewable should both parties wish to every 5 years or so ;)

[craft1948]

I'm in favour of marriage (3 under my belt) but I was only practising with the first 2.............

[jomifl]

Remember that if your (unmarried) partner dies you have to pay tax on anything left to you in their will (if there is one) otherwise their relatives get the ineritance which could be the house in which you are living and on which you will have to pay tax if bequeathed to you. So you will probably have sell it to pay the tax.
Addtiionally, you have no right to visit your partner or make decisions on treatment if your partner is hospitalised , although their teenage nephew who might inherit your partner's estate will have.
Pause for careful thought.....

[goodlife]

Society as a whole could be a reason for a decrease in marriage. The youth of today is on average much less religious, statistics show that 67% of all UK marriages in 2009 were civil ceremonies (legal) as opposed to religious. Therefore, it can be argued that the reason for less married couples is because people can now get partners without having to put a ring on their finger so why settle down?

Also, there is no stigma to haveing children out of wedlock so a wedding is not necessarily the "next step" in a relationship as it once was.

[mikey4444]

Marriage has become less and less relevant these days, just like religion itself.

[pixie373]

Jomifl- that perhaps shows we need changes in the Law rather than encouraging people to get married. I agree actually with lg, maybe 10 year contracts to be renewed if required. There are far more options than just religious ceremonies now, goodlife, so that might explain your point. Marriage is quite unnecessary really.

[mallyh]

i think a lot has got to do with the cost of weddings ,went to a wedding a while ago and it must have cost thousands .

[whiskeryron]

Having been married for 58 years until my wife died I say that marriage is a wonderful institution. One reason for the decline I think is the enormous cost of weddings for couples who do not have the money to spend. If our glorious leader wants to encourage more marriages I suggest he finds a way of dropping the price.

WR.

[jomifl]

A marriage needn't be expensive. It doesn't oblige you to give everyone you know a beanfeast.

[shoota]

No - it has already become one.

[Peter Pedant]

The NIV is:

But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’[a] 7 ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,[b] 8 and the two will become one flesh.’[c] So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

This is appreciably different to GoodLife's version

[ClaryS]

Marriage in years gone by was encouraged to provide secure stable families, it was very hard to get a divorce, which led to unhappy and sometimes self-destructive marriages. Now its so easy to get a divorce one wonders why anyone gets married in the first place.

[Kassee]

I think the divorce rate has made marriage less important. Marriage is not such a big deal as it was, and its very expensive these days, costs a fortune. Youngsters were rather spend there money on a downpayment on their first home together.

[EDDIE51]

the cost of marriage is not the problem. A 10 minute £35 ceremony in the local registry office with just the couple and a witness is just as valid for tax,financial and legal reasons as a £20,000 full church wedding with 100s of guests.

[RATTER15]

I'm looking forward to my 3rd marriage.

I'm not really sure what marriage is all about to be honest, I dont need any legalities and signed bits of paper to pledge myself to my Woman but I suppose it does tie up the ragged ends and keeps thing simple.