Introduction
Marriage is a phenomenon that has existed throughout human history and appears in a variety of literatures including sociology, anthropology, cultural studies and legal studies among others. It is a phenomenon that has evolved through different definitions that attempt to fit the concept in particular circumstances.
The two prominent views that have emerged are the conjugal view and revisionist view (Girgis, George & Anderson, 2010, p.246). According to conjugal viewpoint, marriage is the joining together of a man and woman in order to make a lasting and exclusive commitment of the type that is intrinsically fulfilled by bearing and bringing up children together.
On the other hand, the revisionist view considers marriage as the union of two people who commit to love and care for each other romantically and to sharing the challenges and gains of domestic life. Such differing views emerge from extreme debates that question the changing nature of marriage.
Therefore, this paper argues that marriage in the modern world does not depend on a legal definition only, but also depends on alternative justifications. In as much as the worldviews on family life have changed, marriage still refers to a social, psychological, sexual, emotional, religious, economical and legal fulfillment and the fundamental values of marriage still holds.
Values cherished in the modern world
Arguably, the aspects that were valued in the traditional marriages have not lost any significance in the modern world as many people tend to think. In most societies across the world, it is generally accepted that it is good for children to be reared in stable close partnerships and that these partnerships would provide adults with personal accomplishment.
The regularization of such stable partnership in some areas has been channeled through marriage, though marriage universally is a massively varied phenomenon (Probert, 2009). For instance, there is no common agreement over the number of parties required in a marriage; who should select partners for marriage; whether or not the rearing of children is the core idea of marriage; or the appropriate age for marriage.
Indeed, in culturally diverse societies, it is hard to describe the nature of marriage that might be true for couples. Although the religious notion of marriage dominated in the tradition world, it has not lost meaning due to the legal conception of marriage.
Religious marriages can take place in situations which would not necessarily be commended by the legal framework and vice versa (Barlow et al., 2005). Interestingly, some religious sects have even perceived the need for official marriages to be reinforced by special religious vows, involving obligations beyond the legal commitments of marriage.
In some societies, we have seen the development of civil partnerships, another alternative to marriage for couples of the same sex (Bamforth, 2007). The fact that these societies felt the necessity of creating a status different from marriage yet similar to marriage, demonstrates how strong the conventional understandings still are.
Legal position of marriage
Initially, marriage used to be the central focus of family laws. Scholars would concentrate on debates of the requirements of marriage, the effects of marriage and marriage termination. Presently however, many scholars of family law connote that paternity is the central concept and that marriage has limited legal importance.
This is confirmed by the suggestion made by Diduck and Kaganas (2006) that “marriage is both core and tangential to family law, thought it can be argued that marriage remains at the center of family ideology” (p.30). These scholars attempt to argue that, while the legal effects of marriage are restricted, the figurative nature of marriage is still the element which plays the most important role in providing an explanation of what the perfect family should be in the modern world.
With that understanding, marriage in the modern world still creates some significant legal effect. For instance, it would be impossible for an advocate to counsel a client over family issues unless the advocate is aware that the partners were married. No wonder Hecker and Wetchler (2003) observe in many societies that, married couples incline more to religious or social authorities for counseling over marriage issues.
Moreover, there are other particular challenges that pressure to restrict the legal importance of marriage even further. One, as noted earlier, there are demands for the conventional definition of marriage to be more inclusive. For instance, divorce should be made available and that sexual orientation should not matter (Bamforth, 2007).
Two, there are debates that those couple living together in one way or another like a traditionally married couples should be regarded in the same ways as married couples (Lemanna & Riedmann, 2011). These threats make it difficult to declare a unique standing for marriage in order to accommodate an encompassing legal definition.
Conclusion
The phenomenon of marriage depends on many justification including legal definitions. This is because the elements valued in the tradition conception of marriage still hold in the current world. In addition, the symbolic nature of marriage rather than legal conception underlies the ideology of a perfect marriage.
References
Bamforth, N. (2007). The benefits of marriage in all but name?” Same-sex couples and the Civil Partnership Act 2004. Child and Family Law Quarterly, 19, 133.
Barlow, A., Duncan, S., James, G. and Park, A. (2005). Cohabitation, Marriage and the Law. Oxford, UK: Hart Publishing.
Diduck, A. & Kaganas, F. (2006). Family law, gender and the state: text, cases and materials. Oxford, UK: Hart Publishing.
Girgis, S., George, R. P. & Anderson, R. T. (2010). What is marriage? Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, 34(1), 245-287.
Hecker, L. L. & Wetchler, J. L. (2003). An introduction to marriage and family therapy. Oxfordshire, UK: Routledge.
Lemanna, M. A. & Riedmann, A. (2011). Marriages, families and relationships: making choices in a diverse society. Florence, KY: Cengage Learning.
Probert, R. (2009). Marriage law and practice in the long eighteenth century: a reassessment. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.