What is raditional about modern marriage?
Some argue that marriage is defined narrowly as only being between a man and a woman, so gays can’t possibly marry. The fact is, though, that the nature of marriage has changed in definition and make-up many times over the centuries. Marriage today isn’t at all like what it was two millennia or even two centuries ago. The changes in marriage have been broad and fundamental, so what are traditionalists really trying to defend? What is “traditional” about modern marriage? Most of these changes have moved power in marriage away from the families and to the couples, as well as making women more equal. Let’s look at just a few of the most significant changes in marriage in the West over the past centuries: * Legalization of divorce * Criminalization of marital rape (and recognition that the concept even exists) * Legalization of contraception * Legalization of interracial marriage * Recognition of women’s right to own property in a marriage * Elimination of dowries * Elimination of parents’
