Is Marriage a Dying Institution - Essay Example

Is marriage a dying Marriage can be traditionally defined as a religious and legal bond or commitment between a man and a woman. It is also defined as the ultimate expression of love and union. Homosexual or same-sex marriage is a term for a marriage (recognized by the government, religious, social institutions) between two people of the same sex, living together as a family. The legitimacy of marriage between two people often depends on the degree of authoritativeness carried by the derived definition of marriage.

Despite issues like cohabitation, modernization of outlook and ways of leading life and gay marriages, marriage is still considered a platform to ensure stability in the society and is not really a dying institution although its form and outlook have changed overtime. Few believe in the traditional words of the Book of Common Prayers that marriage is meant to last till death part the two partners. The few people who marry in UK have majority of then ending in divorce. This has even raised the concerns of the church leaders who are constantly trying to build a rescue plan.

In this age of Information Technology cyber divorce ensures that a marriage can end with the click of a mouse. According to the Archbishop of Canterburry, the consumer culture has been on the rise and this has influenced the institution of marriage where people are constantly moving with the hope of finding someone better and worthier than whom he or she has. Apart from the rate of divorce, there are other factors that need to be considered. (BBC Online Network, 2007)Cohabitation: In the modern times, the idea of living together and getting into an intimate emotional and physical relationship with one another is not much of an issue especially when some states like Canada have legalized the act.

In California, such partners are known as “domestic partners”. Despite all states like North Carolina, Mississippi, Virginia, Florida, North Dakota and Michigan still deem the act as a crime in the eye of law. Therefore there is no reason to lose all hope and faith in marriage and give the entire credit to cohabitation. Also, in places like India the idea of opposite sex people cohabiting without the bond of marriage is taken as a taboo. Thus, there are ways and scope to ensure that the institution of marriage still retains its bliss.

Gay marriages: Though homosexual relationships are increasingly gaining acceptance in different nations, yet these couples are not permitted to marry. Some states have identified a form of civil union, which is in practice marriage without the term ‘marriage’ directly referred to. Though some politicians remarked that they are against gay marriages but they would like to leave the decision to the state. Now, the full faith and credit law of American constitution states that once one state makes a law the other states must at least recognize it.

Thus if one state allows gay marriage and the couple then moves on to another state then they must be recognized as married couple in that state as well. People in favour of homosexual marriage believe that such a fundamentally legal agreement, as marriage should not be restricted to opposite sex couples only. When the term same-sex marriage is used, the proponents often like to call it ‘equal marriage’ to focus on the equality factor rather than special rights. The opponents believe that marriage is a natural right based on the need to procreate – procreation is an important social building block of civilization.

In this context, same sex marriages cannot really be accepted or discarded as a right. (Balancedpolitics, 2007)Single parenthood: The frequency and density of single parenthood has grown over the years. Around 14 percent of the households in Australia were single parent in 2003. In UK, around 47 percent of the single parent families were below poverty line. Despite single parenthood being on the rise one needs to analyse the reasons behind the situation. Whether it is a broken marriage or illicit birth?

Who is raising the child, the father or the mother and whether the other partner is alive or not? Only after answering these questions we may say comment that marriage is becoming less of a necessity and losing importance. (O’Neil, 2002)Conclusion: Drawing together all the above issue we may make some comment that marriage is still a desired institution because even today well known celebrities apart from commoners are also spending a fortune on their marriages. However we may say that marriage is a statement to others and not for the partners because it is a social commitment while the actual bonding and commitment lies within oneself.

Gay marriages cannot preach against the basic institution and this also is an evidence for growing desire for marriage because gays also want to marry. Single parenthood, as already discussed may arise from many cases. In situations where marriages had already taken place we may analyse where the other member is. Despite all the modern outlook and even the rising rates of divorce social and emotional factors still lead the people towards marriage. Only the outlook and form have altered.References1.

BBC News (2008), “Is marriage an outdated institution?”, available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/452257.stm (accessed on June 30, 2008)2. Anne-Marie Ambert: Cohabitation and Marriage: How Are They Related?. The Vanier Institute of the Family, Fall 2005, available at: http://www.vifamily.ca/library/cft/cohabitation.html (accessed on June 30, 2008)3. O’Neil, R. (2002), “Experiments In Living: The Fatherless Family”, available at: http://www.civitas.org.uk/pubs/experiments.

php (accessed on June 30, 2008)4. Balancedpolitics.org, “Should Same-Sex Marriages be Legalized?”, 2007, retrieved on April 28, 2008 from: http://www.balancedpolitics.org/same_sex_marriages.htm