Cohabitation Before Marriage

1668 Words4 Pages

Nowadays, the pre-martial cohabitation concept has been widely used across many places. The current generation tends to cohabit outside of marriage at least once in their lifetime.

Bruce Wydick argued that, “cohabitation may be narrowly defined as an intimate sexual union between two unmarried partners who share the same living quarter for a sustained period of time’’ (2). In other words, people who want to experience what being in a relationship truly is, tend to live under one roof and be more familiar with one-another. Couples are on the right path to set a committed relationship where the discussion about marriage is considered as the next step. However, many people doubt the fact as to live or not together with their future partners. Some of them think about it as an effective way to have a chance to get to know a potential husband/spouse. Meanwhile, others completely deny the idea due to their disagreements with certain religious beliefs. Wydick suggested that, “the increase in premarital cohabitation is a product of a general movement within western society away from traditional ideas about marriage, divorce, birth control, abortion, women’s rights, and a host of other related issues” (4). Consequently, now people are more open-minded, meaning that they accept the idea of pre-cohabitation mainly as a social institution. People should live together before they get married because they have a chance to test their partnership and avoid the problems that may arise in the future.

Supporters of cohabitation argue that testing pre-marital compatibility is the best method for a relationship to quit or move forward. People are concerned about whether or not they are marrying the right person, so the option of living toge...

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...tion - Cohabiting: The Good And The Bad." Buzzle Web Portal: Intelligent Life On The Web. Web. 20 Feb. 2012. .

Popenoe, David. "Cohabitation, Marriage, And Child Wellbeing: A Cross-National Perspective."

Society 46.5 (2009): 429-436. Academic Search Elite. Web. 13 Feb. 2012

Glenn, Stantos ." "The Ring Makes All The Difference: Hidden Consequences Of Cohabitation And The Strong Benefits Of Marriage." Christianbook.Com: : Glenn Stanton: 9780802402165. Web. 21 Feb. 2012.
Wydick, Bruce. "Grandma Was Right: Why Cohabitation Undermines Relational Satisfaction, But Is Increasing Anyway." Kyklos 60.4 (2007): 617-645. Academic Search Elite. Web. 13 Feb. 2012.

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