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The Value of Marriage

Marriage is one of the most highly prized of all human relationships and a central goal in life. Most people want for themselves and their children a good and lasting marriage, because marriage plays an important role in their quest for meaning, happiness and fulfillment. Marriage naturally has social, economic and biological functions, with accompanying duties and responsibilities.  Most importantly, marriage seals our most central destiny, which is to find meaning and value in love.

Marriage is the most basic and universal social institution, charged with the central responsibility for raising children and caring for family members. Researchers state that “In virtually every society into which historians or anthropologists have inquired, one finds … marriage.” Since marriage has emotional, social and procreative dimensions it involves a contract in most societies. Marriage often marks the rite of passage from adolescence into adulthood. In traditional cultures marriage is not an individual matter, because it merges two family lineages. Through marriage, people acquire obligations to a community and network of relatives. Marriage marks a person’s vertical and horizontal position in the social fabric.

There is growing evidence that healthy, lasting marriages bring many other benefits to husband, wife and children. In the United States, 90 percent of married women and men live to at least 65 years of age, while those without a spouse (whether they are widowed, divorced or never married) have only a 65 to 70 percent chance of living to age 65. Married people are healthier than non-married adults; they have fewer diseases and they often recover more quickly from illness than people without a supportive life partner. Moreover, married people experience greater psychological health; they have lower rates of severe depression and report higher levels of personal happiness than the general population.

Married couples are more secure financially than single people, better able to handle the ups and downs of life, and more productive in the workplace. Traditional wisdom recognizes the value of marriage. The 18th-century American statesman, Benjamin Franklin, offered the following testimonial to marriage: “A single Man has not nearly the Value he would have in that State of Union. He is an incomplete Animal. He resembles the odd Half of a Pair of Scissors. If you get a prudent healthy Wife, your Industry in your Profession, with her good Economy, will be a Fortune sufficient.”

Research confirms these observations. Economist Robert Schoeni compared men’s earnings in 14 developed countries. In virtually every country studied, married men earn much more than unmarried men. For example, in the United States, married men earn 30 percent more than never-married men. Being married also seems to encourage people to create and retain wealth; the longer they stay married the greater the wealth they accumulate.

Furthermore, children of married parents stand a better chance of becoming happy, successful adults with stable marriages of their own. “A nuclear family of father, mother and their children … is still today a child’s best guarantee for success,” in the words of one sociologist.

The quality of the marriage depends on the foundation of character that the bride and groom bring to their union and on their continued growth in heart as spouses and parents. Furthermore, the quality of heart and character nurtured in the family has an impact on every aspect of a person’s involvement in society. Therefore, communities and nations benefit from healthy marriages and families.

content from the IEF Presentation,
Preparing Youth for Marriage