Marriage

Marriage

Refers to the formal and legal recognition of two people as partners in an intimate relationship

Civil Partnership

Legal relationship which can be registered by two people who aren’t related to each other

ONTS Statistics on Marriage: 2020

The average age at marriage for opposite-sex couples - 35.3 years for men & 32.2 for women

• only 15% of opposite-sex marriages were religious ceremonies

Civil Partnership Trends: 2022

More civil partnerships for opposite-sex couples

• same-sex common age: 25-34

• opposite-sex common age: 55-64

First-Marriage Decline Causes: Changes attitudes to marriage

Change in Norms and Values surrounding marriage

• less pressure to marry and more freedom for individuals to choose the type of relationship they want

• QUALITY > legal state

First-Marriage Decline Causes: Secularisation

Churches are in favour of marriage

• Influence declines = People feel freer to choose not to marry

First-Marriage Decline Causes: Declining Stigma of alternative to marriage

Cohabitation, remaining single, children outside of marriage = widely regarded as acceptable

• pregnancy no longer automatically leads to a ‘shotgun wedding’

• 1989: 70% believed couples who want children should get married

  → 2012: only 42% thought so

First-Marriage Decline Causes: Changes in the position of Women

Better educational and career prospects, many women are not less economically dependent on men

• feminist view: marriage is an oppressive patriarchal institution which may also dissuade some women from marrying

First-Marriage Decline Causes: Changes in the position of Women - Ruspini

Transformations in family life are closely linked to changing gender roles

• dramatic changes in the position of women at the end of WW2 and the 1960s and 70s

• Wider availability of reliable contraception: greater control over reproduction - reduced likelihood of getting pregnant (marriage to legitimise a pregnancy)

First-Marriage Decline Causes: Fear of Divorce

With the rising divorce rate - some may be put off marring because they see the increased likelihood of marriage ending in divorce

Causes for Other Changes in Marriage are: Remarriages

The main reason for the increase in remarriages is the rise in the number of divorces

Causes for Other Changes in Marriage are: Age on Marrying

Age at which couples marrying is rising

• young people are postponing marriage to spend longer in full-time education: establish a career first

• more cohabitation

Causes for Other Changes in Marriage are: Church Weddings

Couples nowadays are less likely to marry in church:

• secularisation

• many churches refuse to marry divorcees

Causes for Other Changes in Marriage are: Over 65 Marriage and Divorce

The number of Brides and Grooms aged 65 and over went up by 46% in a decade

• from 7468 in 2004 to 10937 in 2014