How marriage enhance family ties in the society - Essay Example

How marriage enhance family ties in the society In the modern society that we live in today, one of the mostabused yet most holy institutions is that of marriage. From a Christian perspective, the origin of marriage may be attributed to the creation story when Adam and eve were joined together in a marriage. However, this is not the context to my essay: instead I seek to show how a couple needs to work out together the family roles in a more civilized and informed manner. In the society we live in marriages are of diverse contexts and seek to examine how the same influences family ties (Markman, Scott & Susan 120). The research question is: “Does marriage as exercised between two people have a direct socio-economic impact on the familial ties in the society?” An analysis into this matter will entail a concrete and deeper understanding of the subject matter of marriage in relation to the practices that are associated with it. However, in most instances, a lot of people have questioned the indispensability of marriage itself. The essence of marriage Families as essential care institutions are varied across different cultures and they may change overtime. A good instance for the change in family occurs when a member is married or marries into the family. The implication here would mean that the cultural ideologies and laws are created to enforce the adaptation brought about by marriage. It is largely expected that a marriage can lead to the growth of a society and makes it to be more complex and stratified. Consequently, a marriage in its nature improves on the quality of life and creates a sense of differentiation among the family members based on their socio-economic status. However, in most cases there is a significant difference in the marriages based on the diverse characteristics such as cultural background, education or religion of each of the partners. Therefore, the formation of a family as a social unit needs to incorporate all these aspects that are brought about due to marriage. The definition of a family unit as a social entity in itself recognizes the social essence of marriage in the society. Waite & Lehrer while talking about “the benefits from marriage and religion in the United States,” they recognize that in most cases, marriage and religion will both greatly influence life dimensions such as mental and physical health, economic wellbeings, longevity among others. Consequently, they note that marriage is associated with a higher overall hapiness rate. Everyone who claims to be in love should have the basic idea that such a plan for marriage may result in the enhancement of cross-sectional analyses of the group. When can marriage be considered a marriage? In this context, I am going to look into the argument that has been put forth by Brake in the article “Marriage and Domestic Partnership”. Considering the change in the understanding about marriage, a lot of questions have arisen which have appeared to redefine the context of marriages in the society. The stages that marriage passes and the test both couples undergo together is enough to show of the nature of marriage and whether it qualifies to be called an engagement. Today, the consideration for marriage takes into account other factors such as changes in laws and customs. This may broadly entail government regulations, culture and religious laws associated with marriage. Consequently, there are several civilizational and moral arguments that try to define the context in which marriage can be really considered a marriage. In the church context, the same would be easily answered as the period in time when the two people wed together. However, in other contemporary settings, marriage takes diverse forms and meanings. In some extreme cases, it is considered complete with the birth of a child. An overemphasis of this aspect categorizes marriage as a continuous process with no definite beginning or end. In my opinion, even though a lot of the revolutionary changes in the modern world today seem to want to abandon this institution, I don’t seem to see too many evil or bad things in it as I see wellness (Hawes, Elizabeth & Steven 140). Marriage and Economic well being Much of the past literature that has existed on this topic largely attributes the success of mot marriages to having been built round aspects of economic well being (Edgell 47). According to Lupton & Smith there is a tendency for the married to attain higher economic freedom as compared to when they were single. The drive for this is the commitments that come with marriage and if not well harnessed, economic wellbeing may shatter marriage too. The magnitude of economic freedom as a precise measure of the stability of marriage may not be a good measure. If adhered to, then marriage may be perceived as an economic activity and not social growth. Institutionalization of marriage based on gender In the traditional setting, marriage came with clearly set roles for each of the gender. A particular ole played by one gender could not be played by another. While this seems to have been quite biased and likely to lead to inequalities, it offered each gender separate powers to play active roles in the family matters. Men were predominantly known to look after the women and their children while the women took care of the home, children and satisfied the needs of the husband. As a form of defining familial relations, marriage could be institute early by the parents and determined. The children were just to accept and through this, family ties were strengthened. Consequently, marriage was considered as a means of winning over more allies to one’s family. Therefore, it was regarded with the highest esteem. However, the same cannot be truly said of the current world where there seems to be erosion of the important aspects of marriage, with the traditional values being shunned away by the youthful generation who opt to adopt modern ways. According to Ellison, Christopher and Robert (25), while in the traditional setting having more wives was an easily accepted act, in this contemporary world, before one cross over that boundary, a revaluation of the essence of marriage is done first. Most people also consider the economic conditions before deciding whether to accommodate tow partners in life. Having analyzed these concepts about marriage, there are certain aspects that have tended to paint the union in bad light. First, is the high rate of divorces that are taking place in the world toady. As a result of these large increases in divorce statistics, most un married people reconsider their moves first before moving in with someone. In most cases, the duration of choice may take long hence, hindering growth in the marriage institution. For instance, while it is expected for one to be married at around the age of 30 years, beyond this, some still feel comfortable as they regard the scenario of marriage as one filled with uncertainties. Another practical challenge is the nature of life for people today. For some people, their lifestyles may not allow them to easily intermingle and form a stable family through marriage. For instance, the working class ladies may find it hard to give birth to and raise babies of their own. As such, marriage tends to be a long shot for them and always comes last when all aspects in their life seem perfectly accomplished (Strong, Bryan, and Theodore 93). Additionally, the aspect of marriage in the contemporary world we live in today has bee greatly affected by diverse forms of it. The traditional conception or understanding of marriage is that in which a man would be joined to a woman or more than one woman and not a fellow man. However, the society today has changed with various evil things tarnishing the marriage institution. This even erodes the theme of it as being of essence to the development of familial relationships. Such acts include acts of gay marriages where a male would be attracted to a fellow man and they get married. Other forms are those of a woman marrying another woman, in a union known as lesbianism. When these practices are considered in light of the intended purpose of marriage, little is realized as instead of building family relationships, the practices undertaken in the form of marriage destroy family relationships. It is quite strange to have a man introduce a fellow man as the wife or husband so it is for the women too to introduce a fellow woman to having been a wife or husband to them. Conclusion To conclude with, the essence of marriage as espoused in the development of strong family relationships between members from different places. In all likelihoods, ideological, biological and economical factors, marriage in its broader perspective consider the discovery of aspects such as greater male strength, paternity rights and institutionalization of religious beliefs into it as to having a broader perspective than can be comprehended. Almost all of the identified factors in this essay have been centered towards converging of the factors s as to foster male dominion over women even in marriage. However, this should not be the case as the strife of marriage at least in the context of this essay is to analyze its contribution to increased family bonding relationships. If at all children are to be made part of a family structure through the marriage between two adults, then the satisfaction obtained by that alone stands out as a success in portraying marriage as bonding families and enhancing familial relationships. However, in most cases today, most children are forced to live under single parenthood conditions due to the numerous or high divorce rates that occur in the country. For the children, growing up in such a family structure may have devastating effects in their psychological developments. For instance, one may perceive this as a source of mental ill health for the children. These children when they grow up may end up inheriting some of the negative traits they observed from their single parents and their environment, which were not in harmony with the tenets of a good marriage. Finally, it is largely laid upon religion to help maintain marriage in its initial intended role of enhancing family relationships. The religious leaders should at all costs ensure that marriage practices are performed within the peripheries accepted by moral principles. In this paper, the main focus has been on the maintenance of enhancement of marriage practices that are socially acceptable by the society at large (Lupton Joseph, Smith 75). Works Cited Brake, Elizabeth. "Marriage and Domestic Partnership." The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2012 Edition) (2012). Edgell, Penny. Religion and Family in a Changing Society. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press, 2006. Print. Ellison, Christopher G, and Robert A. Hummer. Religion, Families, and Health: Population-based Research in the United States. New Brunswick, N.J: Rutgers University Press, 2010. Print. Hawes, Joseph M, Elizabeth F. Shores, and Steven Mintz. The Family in America: An Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO, 2001. Internet resource. Lupton Joseph, Smith James P. Marriage, assets, and savings. In: Grossbard-Shechtman Shoshana., editor. Marriage and the Economy: Theory and Evidence from Industrialized Societies. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press; 2003. pp. 129–152. Markman, Howard, Scott Stanley, and Susan L. Blumberg. Fighting for Your Marriage: A Deluxe Revised Edition of the Classic Best Seller for Enhancing Marriage and Preventing Divorce. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2010. Print. Strong, Bryan, and Theodore F. Cohen. The Marriage and Family Experience: Intimate Relationships in a Changing Society. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2013. Print. Waite, Linda J. & Lehrer, Evelyn L. "The Benefits from Marriage and Religion in the United States: A Comparative Analysis." National Institute of Health Vol. 29.2 (2003): 255-276. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2614329/ Read More