FREE ESSAY ON MARRIAGE IS LESS VALUED

MARRIAGE IS LESS VALUED

Marriage is less valued today than ever before.
Marriage and the way we view it today, differs greatly from the past. We no longer have
to be married to be a family. Our views and opinions on marriage and its meaning have
changed considerably. Marriage isn't necessarily less valued, it's just viewed
differently. 
The fact that the divorce rate has doubled in the last twenty years could lead us to
believe that marriage isn't important to us anymore. Instead of persevering and working
at married life, people are more frequently choosing to end their relationships. However,
these divorced couples seem to be merely opting out of poor quality relationships to look
for something better. In the past divorce was frowned upon, we were expected to carry on
regardless of whether we were happy or not. Until 1949, there was no financial help
available for divorce cases. Making the process easier and cheaper has given people the
opportunity to leave 'empty shell' marriages behind. For example in 1991, 75% of women
and 80% of men divorced before the age of 35 were remarried within 10 years. These
figures show that we haven't dismissed the idea of marriage. Repeated remarriage doesn't
mean we take marriage lightly, just that society has changed and we're not expected to
put up with being unhappy. People are demanding a better quality of marriage, it might
take two or three attempts to get it right. 
With the majority of one-parent families being created through divorce, we can't use lone
parents as an example of marriage being less valued. Lone parent families are often only
temporarily in this situation and like divorcees go on to remarry. 
On the surface, the significant decline in marriage can appear to suggest its
unimportance. This can simply reflect an increase in cohabitation. Attitudes have
changed, it's quite acceptable to have a sexual relationship and children outside
wedlock. Living with a partner can be as strong and binding as marriage. Many people
choose to cohabit and have a family. They're married in every sense of the word, only
without the certificate. If anything it reinforces the idea that marriage is very
important. Ensuring we have chosen the right person to be our partner before committing
ourselves. Many cohabiting couples go on to get married later. Again, we have more
choices nowadays, we're not expected to rush into things we're not sure of. The cost of a
wedding ceremony must also be taken into consideration. For the average family, finding
thousands of pounds for something they're living quite happily without isn't always
easy.
Less than half of today's weddings are a traditional religious ceremony. A civil ceremony
is a popular option. This sort of wedding can be held anywhere and involve almost
anything. Some will view this as trivialising marriage, rewriting vows and choosing
bizarre locations for the ceremony. However the couples involved must be taking things
pretty seriously to go to such lengths. After all, it's their day and they're
personalising things because it is so special to them. With church membership and
attendance down we see an increasing number of couples doing things their own way. This
is down to attitudes and beliefs changing and with it the idea of what marriage is about.

Conventional roles within the family are changing. Some women no longer want to be a
mother and housewife first. Their expectations of marriage are different from the past.
Careers for both sexes can be priority to create a stable environment for relationships
and children later on. This confirms the value of marriage. The average age at marriage
has increased.
The difference between the past and the present is the choices we have. If we're
unhappily married we have the option to change things. If we choose to cohabit there's no
strain on us to marry if we're not ready. When we do marry we can say how and where.
Modern life demands a certain quality in relationships. We want to get more out of a
relationship outside the home. We want to be friends with our partner and spend free time
together. Marriage isn't less valued today, the way we live our lives has changed and so
have our reasons for choosing married life. 
Bibliography
Sociology in Focus