Covenant Marriage
The Movement to Reclaim Tradition in America
This book explores a movement that emerged over the past fifteen years, which aims to do just that. Guided by certain politicians and religious leaders who herald marriage as a solution to a range of longstanding social problems, a handful of state governments enacted "covenant marriage" laws, which require couples to choose between a conventional and a covenant marriage. While the familiar type of union requires little effort to enter and can be terminated by either party unilaterally, covenant marriage requires premarital counseling, an agreement bound by fault-based rules or lengthy waiting periods to exit, and a legal stipulation that divorce can be granted only after the couple has received counseling.
Drawing on interviews with over 700 couples-half of whom have chosen covenant unions-this book not only evaluates the viability of public policy in the intimate affairs of marriage, it also explores how growing public discourse is causing men and women to rethink the meaning of marriage.
Every social movement needs its bible. Steven Nock and his colleagues have written such a book. Almost no stone is left unturned in providing the comprehensive treatment that covenant marriage needed.
This book not only provides an informative account of covenant marriage but also offers a thoughtful analysis of the current and future status of marriage in American society. I strongly recommend it to researchers, policy makers, practitioners, and anyone with an interest in marriage and how it is changing.
This is a brilliant achievement and a gold mine of information onmarriage in the United States. Nock, Sanchez, and Wright have given usa masterpiece of thought, not only on the covenant marriage law inLouisiana, but on the broader social, legal, demographic, and religiouschanges that contextualized this social experiment. If you want tounderstand the mix of factors that will form the future of marriage, youcan do no better than starting here.[NOTE: WE HAVE THE AUTHORS PERMISSION TO USE JUST ONE OR TWO SENTENCES]
The authors' research findings...provide a fascinating, unique window onto the issue of marriage in the U.S. today. Highly recommended.
A thoughtful, in-depth, and provocative discussion of issues surrounding covenant marriages.
Laura A. Sanchez is an associate professor of sociology Bowling Green State University.
James D. Wright is the Provost Distinguished Research Professor of sociology at the University of Central Florida.
Preface and Acknowledgements
1 Covenant marriage and the marriage movement
2 Covenant marriage in Louisiana : legal and historical background
3 The implementation of covenant marriage in Louisiana
4 Who wants a covenant marriage?
5 The role of religion in covenant and standard marriages / with Jill A. Deines
6 The ongoing marriage
7 Divorce, religiosity, and counseling
8 Conclusion
Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C
Appendix D
References
Index
About the Authors
