Marriage vs. Cohabitation

1
Marriage vs. Cohabitation

• Karl Gleason
• Allison Jones
• Kristin Matson
• Mark Siebenaller III

2
Lifestyles in the U.S. in 1991

• Married Couples with Children 26
• Married Couples without Children 29
• Cohabitating Couples with Children 8
• Cohabitating Couples without Children 7
• Men Living Alone 10
• Women Living Alone 15
• Other Non-family 5

These percentages add up to 100
3
What is Marriage?

• Legal Marriage - a social institution, a legal
  relationship between two people that carries with
  it certain legal rights and duties (Rouse 4).
• Marriage in the Evangelical Lutheran Church a
  lifelong covenant of a faithfulness between a man
  and a woman, becoming one flesh (www.elca .org).

4
Benefits of Marriage

• Generally
• Probable sustainment of better physical and
  mental health
• Higher income
• Lower levels of domestic violence
• Encourages relationship investment
• More positive impact on children
• Religiously, marriage is favored in the Bible

5
Consequences of Marriage

• Divorce
• Marriage tax used to tax household income, not
  individual incomes. However, depending on the
  respective income of each spouse, the marriage
  tax may not always be a disadvantage.

6
The Bible on Marriage

• Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother
  and clings to his wife, and they become one
  flesh (Genesis 224).
• Because of cases of sexual immorality, each man
  should have his own wife and each woman her own
  husband. The husband should give to his wife her
  conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her
  husband (1 Corinthians 72-3).

7
Contrasts in the Bible

• In the old testament, and specifically Genesis,
  God encourages the reproduction of offspring and
  the strengthening of family lines. Naturally,
  this can only happen with sexual intimacy. This
  sexual intimacy happens between both married and
  unmarried couples. In some cases, God even
  promises to maintain a promise despite adultery.
  
• In Pauls letters, he questions whether sexual
  intimacy is acceptable in a life with Jesus
  Christ and uses marriage as a last resort to
  controlling mortal sexual desire. Here, only
  marriage justifies sexual intimacy.

8
What is Cohabitation

• Cohabitation A relationship between two
  unmarried adults living together, sharing
  household responsibilities and having a sexual
  relationship (Rouse 69).

9
Reasons for Cohabitation

• Readily available sex and convenience
• Cohabitation is often seen as an emancipation and
  freedom to make decisions
• Often used as a testing ground for marriage
• Alternative to being single
• Alternative to marriage

10
Social Trends

• Greater tolerance of varied living arrangements
  and of premarital sex.
• Changing sex roles
• Postponement of marriage
• Financial considerations
• More honest reporting of cohabitation
• Previously married couples choose cohabitation
  often after a previous marriage.
• More acceptance of premarital birth.
• Cohabitation plays an increasingly larger role in
  childrearing.

11
Consequences of Cohabitation

• Couples that cohabitate before marriage have a
  significantly higher divorce rate and rate their
  marriage less positively than couples who did not
  cohabitate before marriage.
• Cohabitation is associated with higher risks of
  domestic violence.
• Strong correlation between cohabitants and
  poverty in the United States.

12
Christianity and Cohabitation

• Marriage is strongly preferred because
• - cohabitation takes away the religious and
  spiritual aspect of family life by making it
  disposable.
• - cohabitation includes the temptation of
  premarital sex.
• - cohabitation may inhibit the stability of a
  future marriage.

13
Historical Context of Cohabitation

• The Bible does not address the contemporary issue
  of cohabitation. Thus, we may assume there was no
  practice of cohabitation.
• Since scripture clearly teaches that sexual
  intimacy belongs exclusively within the context
  of marriage, we conclude that Christianity
  discourages cohabitation.