Revitalizing the Institution of Marriage for the Twenty-First Century

As divorce rates in the United States reach alarming levels, the institution of marriage receives more and more criticism as an unrealistic endeavor. However, the contributors to this volume view marriage as a vital social institution, not merely one kind of intimate relationship. They argue for stronger support through legal and policy reform in order to strengthen for the benefit of individuals, communities, and the nation. The contributors address hot-button issues such as same-sex marriage, effects of divorce on children, and the role of fathers in addition to issues such as the permanence of marriage, covenant marriage, and the role of religion in marriage. This work brings together the work of respected legal scholars and social scientists, who articulate why we should care about strengthening the institution of marriage, what we can do, and what challenges we face.

Despite dramatic social change, marriage remains a critical social institution that promotes individual, family and community well being. The contributors to this book believe that marriage deserves our best efforts to revitalize it instead of a conscious agenda of benign neglect. Here, assembled in one place, is a clear pro-marriage research and policy agenda aimed at revitalizing this insitution based on principles of the best interests of children, husbands and wives, and society at large. Contributors from both the social sciences and legal studies illuminate critical issues from a variety of important perspectives, providing a comprehensive and respectful treatment of a timely and often divisive subject.

ALAN J. HAWKINS is Associate Director at the School of Family Life, and Professor of Marriage, Family, and Human Development at Brigham Young University. He is co-editor of Generative Fathering and focuses his research on fathering and marriage.

LYNN D. WARDLE is Professor of Law at J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University. He has published widely in the area of family law and sits on the Board of Editors for the Journal of Law and Family Studies.

DAVID ORGON COOLIDGE is the Director of the Marriage Law Project in Washington, D.C. He is licensed to practice law, and from 1983 to 1991 he worked on the State and Federal level for Justice Fellowship, advocating alternatives to incarceration and restitution to victims of crime.