There’s an article in The Canberra Times (in Australia) about how there were fewer marriages this year — and it’s in part because of the connection to religion.
Civil celebrant Judy Aulich conducted 96, or more than 6 per cent, of Canberra marriages this year.
She said most couples she married had lived together beforehand and rarely included any religious component in their marriage ceremonies.
One couple is profiled in the piece and they don’t see any need to get married despite dating for three years:
Canberran Philippa Pryor and her partner Darren Fernandes have been together for three years and are uninterested in marriage.
…
”I have a particular attitude towards marriage: that it’s a very religious thing and I’m not religious, so it doesn’t matter to me. If I was to give a reason, it would be that … It just doesn’t seem very relevant,” he said.
Makes sense. There are some perks/rights to being married but it’s certainly not necessary to have a strong relationship.
So how is the church spinning this?
… the Anglican Bishop of Canberra and Goulburn, Stuart Robinson, said his church had performed significantly fewer baptisms, marriages and funerals over the past decade.
He said the decline of marriages showed people were electing to enjoy partnerships without any Church involvement or marriage celebration.
”People are not connected with communities which take marriage seriously,” he said.
Or maybe people are realizing you don’t need to follow church traditions to confirm your love.
It’s bad enough most churches say no to marrying gay couples. Why start your marriage within an institution that is based on spreading misinformation and/or bigotry, especially when there are secular/Humanist alternatives available?
Are any of you in a committed relationship with no plans to get married?
Did any of you get married in a non-religious ceremony?
(Thanks to Dani for the link!)