Cohabitation Before Marriage Research Paper

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Recommended: Introduction on cohabitation

Cohabitation is defined as two individuals romantically living together with no legal ties or sealed commitments between them. Fifty years ago, the concept of living together before marriage was scarce, as it should be. If premarital sex causes unwanted children and awkward relationships, imagine what cohabitation does to society. Society should be against cohabitation because it gives no indication of how things would be married, offers no type of commitment, is a recipe for dysfunctional families when children are involved, correlates with less education and pay, and goes against some religious beliefs. Unfortunately, the rates of cohabitation before marriage have increased to 66% of couples in the United States cohabiting while just a …show more content…

Cohabitation does not allow us to see how things would be if we were married yet it one of the top reasons that cohabiters defend their lifestyle. Often couples admittingly say that they are just testing the waters to see what life would be like married to each other, like test driving a car. In this comparison they show that if the car does not fit their interest they return it, this is the same idea they have in the relationship. When relationships fail and couples are not married, it still can involve costly disputes between legal advisors on properties once shared. Cohabitation portrays that marriage is meaningless and unnecessary when it should be a sacred vow to be kept throughout life, expressing the love and bond …show more content…

I grew up with a Baptist background and following the Bible was something I wanted just as much as my parents. I was finishing nursing school and did not know how this would work living in different cities than the father. We decided to try cohabiting for a few years and it was full of disarray. I quit going to church and fell into a depressed state leading to our separation. I felt ashamed that we lived together but had no meaningful connection as I had always thought of having children with a husband. Following my religious beliefs could have changed the outcome of my now disintegrated family and his presence with my kids would have likely been more than four days a

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