marriage Flashcards
define marriage:
a legally binding contract between two people in a personal/sexual relationship.
how many marriages take place in a religious setting
30%
are marriages increasing or decreasing?
Marriage rates are at their lowest since the 1920’s.
In 2012 there were 175,000 first marriages, which was just less than half of marriages in 1970.
Decline of marriage taking place in a church; influence of secularisation. In 1981 only 60% of marriages had religious ceremonies, in 2012 this has dropped to 30%.
what are increasing in marriage statistics?
There are now more re-marriages. In 2012 33% of all marriages were re-marriages. For many people, this is leading to serial monogamy.
People are marrying later – 7 year increase when comparing 1971 and 2012.
which marriages have not been decreasing?
In 2017, there were 6,932 marriages formed between same-sex couples, a similar number to the previous year (7,019 marriages). Of these, 44% were between male couples and 56% were between female couples. These percentages have remained unchanged since the introduction of marriages of same-sex couples in March 2014.
why are marriages decreasing?
Expense – The average wedding in the UK costs £27,000
Secularisation – The decline in the significance of religion and the condemnation of cohabitation has declined. For many, marriage is no longer a religious ceremony.
Declining stigma attached to alternatives to marriage – Young people are more likely to cohabit than older people.
Fear of divorce – deters people from what they see as a risk with marriage. However, increase in remarriage is because of first marriages ending in divorce. Beck ‘risk society’- increased risk and uncertainty
why is there an increase in remarriages?
This has increased due to the rise in the number of divorces – the rising number of divorcees provide a supply of people available to re-marry.
Example:
Katie Price
She has now been married three times and divorced twice – serial monogamy
why are people marrying later?
prioritising other things like career and house, marriage is expensive, see failures may choose to cohabit
why is there less marriages in the church?
Many churches refuse to marry divorcees – divorcees take up a growing proportion of those marrying.
same sex couples cant
how do new right and functionalists see marriage declining?
view the decline in marriage as bad because they represent the breakdown of the social order and increase in potential social problems.
how do postmodernists view marriage decreasing?
don’t see these trends as a problem, just as part of the shift to a postmodern society in which people have more choice and freedom.
how do feminists see changing marriage patterns?
generally, see these trends as positive, reflecting the greater empowerment of women.
