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Societal trends on marriage
Short essay on the importance of marriage
Societal trends on marriage
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“Love is a decision, it is a judgment, it is a promise. If love were only a feeling, there would be no basis for the promise to love each other forever. A feeling comes and it may go.“―Erich Fromm. With love and promises comes a life changing situation- marriage. So at what age is it appropriate to marry? Teenage marriage has become a subject that many people have disagreed on over the last few decades. Some say that teenagers are not mature enough to marry, while others argue that if a teenager truly loves someone they should get married. If love is a promise, are teenagers prepared to make a commitment to marry someone else? Even though teenage marriage should be discouraged, the marriage can be successful if the couple puts Jesus first.
Marriage is a commitment to your spouse. It is an obligation and a promise that you will keep for a lifetime no matter how difficult it may be (Ayer 16). Matthew 19:6 says, "What therefore God has joined together let not man separate". For this reason, marriage is far more than a human social contract; it is a divine covenant. Marriage is a permanent commitment; it is entered into by the husband and the wife before God as a witness. Because it is ultimately God who joins the couple together, the husband and the wife vow to each other "till death do us part” (Kostenberger 5).
This view of marriage has changed over the years- husband’s and wife’s roles, the reasons for marriage, and the amount of marriages and divorces. Today, marriage is often viewed as something that is part of a society's expected behaviors and beliefs. Society believes that marriage is a thing that can be entered into and walked out of by the wedded partners at any time that they desire. So long as a...
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Lindsay, Jeanne Warren. Teenage couples dealing with money, in-laws, babies and other details of daily life. Buena Park, Calif.: Morning Glory Press, 1995. Print.
Regnerus, Mark. "Christianity Today." The Case for Early Marriage. Christianity Today, 31 July 2009. Web. 9 Mar. 2014. .
Stanton , Glenn T.. "The Gospel Coalition." The Gospel Coalition Blog FactChecker Divorce Rate Among Christians Comments. The Gospel Coalition Inc, 25 Sept. 2012. Web. 9 Mar. 2014. .
"Teenage Marriage and Divorce." National Vital Statistics System. US. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, 1 Sept. 1985. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. .
Human beings are not isolated individuals. We do not wander through a landscape of trees and dunes alone, reveling in our own thoughts. Rather, we need relationships with other human beings to give us a sense of support and guidance. We are social beings, who need talk and company almost as much as we need food and sleep. We need others so much, that we have developed a custom that will insure company: marriage. Marriage assures each of us of company and association, even if it is not always positive and helpful. Unfortunately, the great majority of marriages are not paragons of support. Instead, they hold danger and barbs for both members. Only the best marriages improve both partners. So when we look at all three of Janie’s marriages, only her marriage to Teacake shows the support, guidance, and love.
Marriage is a commitment that seems to be getting harder to keep. The social standards placed on an individual by society and influenced by the media inevitably lead some to consider divorce as a “quick-fix” option. “Have it your way” has become a motto in the United States. It has become a country without any consideration of the psychological effects of marriage and divorce. The overwhelmingly high divorce rate is caused by a lack of moral beliefs and marital expectations.
Marriage is one of those things most women and some men look forward to in life. This generation is different from the rest of the generations before, where you had to get married by a certain age and follow a standard of living. Nowadays everyone has the option of getting married or not. There is so much individuality, and liberty to do whatever we please without lives that we can marry the same sex. Even if a couple does marry and say their vows that should mean so much to them, they are getting divorced the next day. “Among adults who have been married, the study discovered that one-third (33%) have experienced at least one divorce. That means that among all Americans 18 years of age or older, whether they have been married or not, 25% have gone through a marital split (New Marriage).” “Around the world, people are marrying later and divorcing often (Sernau).” Now that this epidemic of marriage and divorce has taken place over the last few generations parenting suffers a great deal.
Newman, Philip R. and Barbara M. Newman. Childhood and Adolescence. Pacific Grove: Brooks/Cole Publishing Co., 1997.
Slocum, Meghan. "The Problems Faced by Teen Parents." LIVESTRONG.COM. 11 June 2010. Meghan Slocum. 04 Nov. 2013 .
When we think of marriage, the first thing that comes to mind is having a lasting relationship. Marriage is a commitment of two people to one another and to each other?s family, bonded by holy matrimony. When a couple plans to marry, they think of raising a family together, dedicating their life to each other. That?s the circle of life--our natural instinct to live and produce children and have those children demonstrate your own good morals. I have never been married; but I don?t understand why when two people get married and vow to be together for richer and poorer, better or worse, decide to just forget about that commitment. A marriage should be the most important decision a person makes in his or her life.
Today young adults aren't married as young, but their marriage doesn't last as long either. For instance, Macaulay Culkin and his ex wife married both at the age of 17, but they ended up getting a divorce with him at the age of 19 and her at the age of 20. Their marriage only lasted for 2 years after they found out that their love for each other was really just a fling. I don't think that they should have been thinking about marriage at that age and point in their lives. They both had their own busy lives which they had already planned out what they wanted to happen. I'm sure neither of them had included the part about getting married at the age of 17. 1 also think that they really weren't as ready as they thought they were. They probably figured that because they feel that they are in love that they should just go ahead and take that extra step and get married to be with each for the rest of their lives, which didn't turn out that way.
Shiono, P., & Quinn, L. S. (1994). Epidemiology of Divorce . Children and divorce, 4. Retrieved April 17, 2014, from http://futureofchildren.org/publications/journals/article/index.xml?journalid=63&articleid=408§ionid=2781
Bridget Burke Ravizza wrote the article, “Selling Ourselves on the Marriage Market” and is an assistant professor of religious studies at St. Norbert College, De Pere, WI. After talking with an unnamed group of college students, she discovers that “These college students have grown up in a society in which nearly half of all marriages end in divorce.” She also reveals “they are fearful that their future marriages will go down that path, and some question whether lifelong commitment can—or should—be made at all.” Furthermore, Ravizza finds that “students are bombarded with messages about sexuality and relationships—indeed messages about themselves—that seem to undermine authentic relationships.” Simply put, culture has accepted divorce as a “normal” thing and has already begun to affect the next generations. The surveyed students are so fearful of divorce, they are, in essence, afraid of marriage as well. They even go to the extreme of avoiding divorce by saying they may not get married at all to prevent the “undermining of an authentic relationship.”
In America, the society runs on what teenagers want. From Nicki Minaj to the junior section at Sears, most of what the people see, hear, or touch is aimed at the teenagers. Being an adolescent is probably the most exciting and most popular time period in a person’s life. The teens seem to have it all, but what about the parents who raise them? The parents of the teenagers never get any credit during this time period, although they have every right to. Parents and teenagers should strive for a strong, lasting relationship for these years, though most times there isn’t one. The relationship between teenagers and parents is the most vital bond in the family because this relationship should and will prepare them for the next step in life.
The debate on whether to get married or stay single has been raging for a long while, with both sides of the coin having their own pros and cons regarding the matter. Many proponents of either marriage or single life have strong individual convictions, and it is difficult to reach a definitive, objective conclusion. Is the married individual happier than his/her single counterpart, or is getting married just a comfort seeking ritual that people believe they have to fulfill at some point in their lives? It is necessary to dissect this issue in the light of four factors: health and other medical factors, the economic and financial factors, mental and emotional wellbeing and lastly, the social factors. According to Webster’s dictionary, the definition of Married is “the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law”.
Teens may think getting married at that point in their life is a good idea, but there are a few things that they don’t consider. Some of these things that cause the failure of teen marriages are due to money problems, the partners not being mature enough, and from the stress that others put on the relationship. The failing of teen marriages also has quite a few effects that greatly impact the couple's lives. The failure of teen marriages has caused a decline in teen marriages.
Marriage should be a mature and responsible decision; it should be a long-lasting commitment. People seem to take this commitment all too lightly in today's generation and it leads to high rates in early marriages. I strongly claim that early marriage is a violation of children's basic rights and to making decisions about their own lives. With the standards established up to date, marriage comes with manifold responsibilities; most of them teens are not prepared to handle. Nevertheless, marriage is a matter of choice, but would not it be better to wait a couple of years, so as not to regret the consequences, and not to pay dearly for mistakes?
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. “Pathways to Adulthood and Marriage: Teenagers’ Attitudes, Expectations, and Relationship Patterns” Aspe.hhs.gov Web. 17 Nov. 2010.
...ociety; we do not need teens, which are not ready for marriage, to be married. Marriage is all about compromise, understanding, and give and take. Teens have not fully grasped that concept yet. They need to experience more in life before becoming married. They are missing out on so much; it is truly not worth it to rush into marriage.