Marriage Defined

I looked up the dictionary definition of marriage today. “Marriage is the formal union of a man and a woman, usually recognized by law, by which they become husband and wife.” My next thought was that definition is going to have to change in the coming years. “Marriage is the formal union of two people, […]

Hooking Up and Hanging Out

I am learning a lot talking to my daughter about today’s dating culture. She sent me a New York Times article the other day on the end of courtship that described her experience to a tee – Hooking up and hanging out! Young adults today have ways to instantly access their social network with text […]

The Changing Face of Marriage

In the United States today, society is rapidly moving to a time when all people, regardless of sexual orientation, will have equal opportunity under the law to get married. At present, same-sex marriage is legal in seventeen states and the District of Columbia.  Same sex marriage in Utah, which was the eighteenth state to legalize […]

The Head of the Household

My brother-in-law sent me a book on marriage last week called “Make Yours a Happy Marriage” by O.A. Geiseman. It was written in 1946 just two years after my parents were married. Dr. Geiseman was the pastor at a Lutheran Church in Illinois and was a well known speaker at the time in practical religious […]

Childhood Lessons in Equality

I was born an identical twin, one of two. My childhood and early teenage years orbited around my relationship with my twin brother, Wendel. We were “the twins,” a twosome, a couple, before we became individuals. As young adults, we went to very different colleges, moved to different areas of the country, pursued different careers […]

Should We Cohabitate?

In the past half century, there has been a dramatic increase in acceptance of alternative lifestyles to marriage for individuals living in the United States, including cohabitation, single parent families, gay and lesbian marriage, divorce and remarriage and step-families. According to a New York Times article by Meg Jay published in April 2012, cohabitating couples […]

Recent Trends in Marriage Today

According to the Pew Research Center, just over half of the adults in the United States are marrying today (Cohn, et. al., 2011). Fifty years ago, 72% to 80 % of adults got married. It is expected that the current marital rate may drop below 50% in the next few years. Compared to previous generations […]