Marriage

[cablescavenger]

Does marriage still have a place in society? is it outdated? Will it still be here in 100 years?

Can you defend it? or are you of the mind that it is a worthless exercise?

 

[Kathryn]

Marriage still has a place in society obviously, or people wouldn't be so adamant about their rights to be married.

 

[Viker]

It has a place. It's not a bad thing. Heck, I even thought about it once. I just don't see it as the most important thing.

 

[Sunstone]

Does marriage still have a place in society? is it outdated? Will it still be here in 100 years?

Marriage is based -- is actually deeply rooted -- in the human instinct to form pair bonds when mating. That instinct is almost certainly genetically based. Which means it ain't going anywhere -- it ain't gonna disappear -- so long as our species is still our species. Even if you abolished the legal institution of marriage, people would still pair off in sexual relationships.

When I was growing up, some of the news magazines would run cover stories -- every three or five years it seemed -- asking if marriage was on the way out. What a worthless question! Marriage is too deeply rooted in human genetics to entirely disappear. Sure, you can modify the details of what is or is not a legal marriage, but pair bonding in one form or another will remain.

Can you defend it? or are you of the mind that it is a worthless exercise?

So far as I can see, it doesn't much matter whether or not you defend pair bonding. Pair bonding needs no defense in order for it to remain a common human behavior.

On the other hand, marriage -- which is merely a legally recognized form of pair bonding -- might need a tweak or two. For instance, there does not seem to be any good reason to refrain from legally recognizing as marriage certain homosexual pair bonds.

 

[Adamski]

The catholic church will be stand against the gates of hell and will be a visible light shining on a hill until the end of this time. She is the bearer of all that is good and will continue to up hold the sacred sacrement of matrimony.

 

[Gjallarhorn]

Does marriage still have a place in society? is it outdated? Will it still be here in 100 years?

It has a place now. It is rather outdated. Depending on whether we can find a new way to allocate benefits to couples without the need of legal forms, It could be eliminated, at least as a government institution, in 100 years.

Can you defend it? or are you of the mind that it is a worthless exercise?

I can defend it, but I rather dislike that marriage is thought of as a governmental issue.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

Can you defend it? or are you of the mind that it is a worthless exercise?

Let me check with my wife.

 

[Badran]

Sure, you can modify the details of what is or is not a legal marriage, but pair bonding in one form or another will remain.

This.

Basically, i don't think that the idea of two people committing to each other is going anywhere. How thats done however, what importance is given to its procedures according to the different cultures and so forth is a different story. It can and have changed over time.

 

[cablescavenger]

Marriage is based -- is actually deeply rooted -- in the human instinct to form pair bonds when mating. That instinct is almost certainly genetically based. Which means it ain't going anywhere -- it ain't gonna disappear -- so long as our species is still our species. Even if you abolished the legal institution of marriage, people would still pair off in sexual relationships.

When I was growing up, some of the news magazines would run cover stories -- every three or five years it seemed -- asking if marriage was on the way out. What a worthless question! Marriage is too deeply rooted in human genetics to entirely disappear. Sure, you can modify the details of what is or is not a legal marriage, but pair bonding in one form or another will remain.



So far as I can see, it doesn't much matter whether or not you defend pair bonding. Pair bonding needs no defense in order for it to remain a common human behavior.

On the other hand, marriage -- which is merely a legally recognized form of pair bonding -- might need a tweak or two. For instance, there does not seem to be any good reason to refrain from legally recognizing as marriage certain homosexual pair bonds.

Yes but pairing happens whether marriage is there or not.

 

[Sunstone]

Yes but pairing happens whether marriage is there or not.

Exactly. Pair bonding is the precursor behavior to the legal recognition of pair bonding -- which is called "marriage". Not every animal pair bonds. We do. And we do so instinctively.

 

[Penumbra]

The catholic church will be stand against the gates of hell and will be a visible light shining on a hill until the end of this time. She is the bearer of all that is good and will continue to up hold the sacred sacrement of matrimony.

Cool.

Just don't do it through secular laws, right?

 

[Penumbra]

Does marriage still have a place in society? is it outdated? Will it still be here in 100 years?

Can you defend it? or are you of the mind that it is a worthless exercise?

As previously described in the thread, many people do like pair bonds.

I'd prefer from a legal standpoint, for the government to mainly stay out of it and just to recognize contracts between adults (about pair bonding and other unrelated contracts), rather than to sort out who can get married and who can't.

 

[LongGe123]

Nnmartin did a thread on this - saying quite vehemently that marriage should be abolished. As I said in that thread, I'll say in this one again. Marriage absolutely has a place in society, and is important on so many levels. As an atheist, I personally don't feel the religious significance of it, but objectively speaking, I see how many attach their own religious views to the importance of marriage, and they must be recognized.

But in my view, more importantly is the legal foundations behind marriage. Being married is a question of your status within society, and it greatly affects the way you live in a society. There are differences in taxation, legal rights, ownership etc. This is why it is important that more societies legalize official unions between same-sex couples. More than anything, in my mind, marriage is a legal, recognized union that grants the people within it certain rights and privileges - and therefore it has a definite place in society.

Culturally too, outside of religion, marriage is an expression of deep committment between two people, and while it seems meaningless in the eyes of some, in the eyes of others is absolutely meaningful. If a number of people wish to express their love and ocmmitment to each other through marriage, then they should do so! And society must encourage it, and accept it. So, for this reason too, marriage has a place within society.

As I mentioned, I don't really hold with the relgiious reasoning behind it, but I'd be a complete hypocrite if I didn't tolerate and accept it as reasonable and justifiable. So all of the above, as far as I can see, give the concept of "marriage" its place within society.

<cue rapturous applause>

 

[Trey of Diamonds]

Does marriage still have a place in society? is it outdated? Will it still be here in 100 years?

Can you defend it? or are you of the mind that it is a worthless exercise?

What definition of marriage are you speaking of? The legal marriage? The religious marriage? Pair bonding? Polygamous? Marriage is far too varied in form and funtion to discuss it in such a general manner.

 

[blackout]

More than anything, in my mind, marriage is a legal, recognized union that grants the people within it certain rights and privileges - and therefore it has a definite place in society.

But WHY should 'married' people be granted certain rights and privileges that
non-married people, single, partnered and otherwise, are not?
Why do 'rights and privileges' not available to all have a definite place in society?

 

[blackout]

As previously described in the thread, many people do like pair bonds.

I'd prefer from a legal standpoint, for the government to mainly stay out of it and just to recognize contracts between adults (about pair bonding and other unrelated contracts), rather than to sort out who can get married and who can't.

I agree with this. ^

 

[LongGe123]

but isn't this basically the same thing - what I'm talking about is the concept of "marriage" itself, in its broadest sense. It's like in France where they have "le pacs" - where you basically get your partnership officially recognized, but don't get "married" in the traditional sense of the word. You seem to have misunderstood me as advocating traditional marriage and the rights it brings those people. I'm talking about the concept of a legally recognized union.

In addition, I agree that there should be certain advantages to being single too. It's certainly unfair to make it so there are absolutely no advantages to being single. Perhaps single, childless people should pay less income tax, haha. But that's another issue for discussion. My point is that "marriage", does have a place within society.

 

[The Sum of Awe]

It has a place now. It is rather outdated. Depending on whether we can find a new way to allocate benefits to couples without the need of legal forms, It could be eliminated, at least as a government institution, in 100 years.

I can defend it, but I rather dislike that marriage is thought of as a governmental issue.

Exactly what this guy said :bow:

 

[dawny0826]

Does marriage still have a place in society? is it outdated? Will it still be here in 100 years?

Can you defend it? or are you of the mind that it is a worthless exercise?

It has a place in the lives of those who see value in it. In that regard, it's not outdated and will likely be around for 100 years.

I don't see point in defending marriage. I think that indviduals have to determine the value of marriage for themselves. I believe that couples, regardless of gender, sex or sexual orientation, should be able to enter into civil unions and should be able to define marriage as they see fit and attach to it any traditions that they find meaningful.

For myself personally, I still believe that marriage can be beautiful - even as my divorce nears its finality.

 

[nnmartin]

Does marriage still have a place in society?

NO

is it outdated? Will it still be here in 100 years?

yes, and no.

Can you defend it? or are you of the mind that it is a worthless exercise?

it is a worthless exercise, used only as a tool for personal gain.