One of the primary reasons the fundamentalist right gives for opposing same-sex marriage is that it would destroy the "sanctity" of marriage, which they consider to be a religious ritual. Of course, it is not a religious ritual at all, since it is regulated by the secular state and doesn't require the participation of any religious official to happen. And a strong case can be made that marriage in these modern times is not so "sanctified" anymore.
The number of divorces happening from those "sanctified" marriages has risen sharply in the last few years, and now is 18 points higher than it was in 1960 -- and there is no reason to believe it won't continue to rise in the future. And today, a full 40% of new marriages involve people who have been married before. If more and more people are having second marriages (or more), can marriage really be that "sanctified"?
Then you can see that many Americans are starting to think that marriage may not really be something they must have. We have seen from polls in the past that a record number of Americans are unmarried today. Now this Pew Research Center survey (taken from the American Community Survey) shows that a whole lot of the previously married don't want to try it again (including a clear majority of women).
There is no such thing as sanctity of marriage and never was.
ReplyDeleteIn the past it was about the buying and selling of women for their fathers gain.
Today it is about men & women thinking there is such a thing as love at 1st sight.
And 'OH! that is so ickie! There is no way I want it legal for two guys doing that and calling it marriage!!'
Sanctity of marriage... I got married for the first, and so far only time, in the courthouse by a judge. That was a few months before my brother said "I do" to a preacherman...for the third time. Maybe that's why I believe my own marriage will mean more when when there is equality. I don't like being consisted "special" like all the many times divorced and remarried churchies. I'd much rather just be a woman in love with her partner, who in my case happens to be a guy, but who cares? There are same-sex couples who have been together longer than the total of all three of my brother's church-marriages, let alone any one of them. Let's up that sanctity of marriage with a few more couples who'll stay married.
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