Why it’s not worth getting married any more

[deyana]

Why it’s not worth getting married any more (unless you’re about to die)

It is one of the oldest institutions known to humanity, with the first recorded instance dating from 2350 BC, in Mesopotamia. Now, more than four millennia later, marriage could be on the verge of dying out.

New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that for the first time, fewer than half of adults are in a marriage or civil partnership, down from 50.6 per cent in 2020 to 49.4 per cent in 2022. According to an analysis of the decline in marriages over a 50-year period by the think tank Civitas, the institution will all but disappear by 2062, when just one couple for every 400 adults will marry compared to one couple for every 100 now – a drop of more than 70 per cent in two generations.

With the average cost of a wedding coming in at a staggering £18,000, it’s unsurprising that many young couples are prioritising saving for a house deposit or having children ahead of a ritual increasingly regarded as outdated and unnecessary.

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[hank]

Unless there are children I don't see the reason to marry unless they both just want to.
Marriage was popular when only the man worked for the money and the woman worked as a house wife, as a union. Those days are pretty much gone as is the formula for marriage.

[fuzzems]

I disagree. Marriage is still alive and well all across the globe. There is a notion of committment and permanance and religious conviction to it. Yes, there are marriages that fail and don't meet that ideal. However, we don't throw out something good because it isn't always achieved. I think marriage is better for both men and women. A man should want to lay his life down for you, to give you everything he has. And a woman will commit herself to someone who is willing to do just that. The "just a piece of paper" crowd can say what they please. If it's just a piece of paper , then why not get it? If it really means nothing, then shouldn't be so much defensiveness about getting it.

Marriage is an overall good for society. Gives more permanance and is a better structure for couples, families, communites and societies.

As for the "cost" of marriage. That's just silliness. One can get a simple dress, have a simple wedding with cake and punch and a pot luck in the church. Or a small wedding, etc. Nobody has to break the bank, that's a poor excuse.

[Springschick]

I think many people confuse marriage with a wedding. A marriage can happen at City Hall for a nominal fee.

[Dr. JMA23]

I feel marriage is a good thing, but then I'm old and old fashioned.

[Springschick]

Me too. I did it both ways, with the same person, and marriage definitely adds more to the relationship.