Do You Still Believe in Marriage?

Do you believe that marriage as an institution still fits today's society? Or do you think that marriage is losing its relevance and is now on the fast track to becoming obsolete?

According to a survey co-conducted by Pew Research Center and Time Magazine on November last year, one in four Americans think that marriage has become obsolete. Sure, these folks still think that it would be nice to get married someday, but marriage per se is no longer necessary to attain love, companionship and all those benefits that people used to get exclusively from tying the knot.

But what is marriage, anyway? What defines a couple as married? Do we strictly consider the ring and the signed contract as the ultimate definers of matrimony? Or is the mutual though publicly undeclared understanding of commitment and devotion enough?

If we define marriage only in terms of the ring and the contract, then we are probably in trouble. Tangible objects such as finger jewelry and a sheet of written legalese may make us feel secure and comfortable, but these objects are totally without meaning if the commitment and devotion are absent in the marriage. On the other hand, a relationship that is built on commitment, devotion and trust can definitely stand on its own, with or without the ring and the paper.

It all depends on how you look at marriage itself and how you have experienced it in the past. For example, if you are the child of parents who have been happily married for years and years, then you may have a rosy-colored view of what marriage is all about. It may be a different thing altogether if you're a child of divorce or have experienced a messy divorce previously yourself.

Whatever the Pew/Time survey says, marriage will never be obsolete. It's more like the way we define marriage is changing.

(Image: Gracie Stinson/MorgueFile)