News

Our July/August Issue: Put a Ring on It?

The future of marriage may depend on good marriages.

Illustration by Keith Negley

Marriage is hard. Plenty of institutions attest to that: couples therapy, couples retreats, and, of course, divorce. But a good marriage isn’t just difficult to sustain; it can be difficult to get off the ground. For many who want to tie the knot, finding a mate is the least of problems amid more daunting financial or cultural headwinds.

Societies have tried to jump-start marriages over the centuries with the vehicle of the mass wedding. Collective wedding ceremonies date back at least to the fourth century B.C., when Alexander the Great and roughly 80 of his officers married Persian women to cement their rule over the region. But the practice really took off in the later 20th century. Sensational instances like Moonie marriages and city hall LGBT ceremonies have tended to grab headlines. Far more common, however, are mass weddings put on by churches, mission groups, nonprofits, and even national governments such as those of India and Syria. These rites are meant to nudge couples past cold feet and sticker shock and toward the benefits that come with mutual commitment and legal recognition of a marriage union.

One of CT’s most popular articles online last year was an interview with Dallas pastor Bryan Carter about his church’s tradition of the “Grand Wedding.” More than 80 couples have been married so far in collective ceremonies at Concord Church, part of a program to get lovers to stop living together and make some real vows. The church seeks to remove as many excuses for non-commitment as possible. It covers all wedding costs, provides more than a year of marriage counseling and mentorship, and even pays a month of rent for cohabitating couples who choose to live apart instead.

For the most part, initiatives like Concord Church’s offer couples a bridge over relatively surmountable obstacles, getting them to a destination they would genuinely like to reach. The alarming reality outlined in our cover story by sociologist Mark Regnerus, however, is that most couples no longer see anything worthwhile across that bridge. The rapid loss of interest in matrimony is not due to its prohibitive cost but rather to its lack of perceived benefits. This comes even as, ironically, those who have already crossed the bridge are finding that marriage offers unparalleled shelter in stormy times, including global pandemics.

This shifting landscape poses massive challenges for those who champion the value of marriage. Can matrimony be saved? The answer probably will not depend on legislation or messaging. More likely, salvation will hinge on how well communities—particularly church communities—model marriages that provoke people to say, as Carter told CT: “That’s what I need. Help me to get there!”

Andy Olsen is managing editor of Christianity Today. Follow him on Twitter @AndyROlsen.

Also in this issue

Our two-part cover package this issue outlines the alarming reality that marriage, long caught in a tug of war over its meaning and place in Western society, is no longer even an appealing option for most young couples. And the decline of matrimony is not limited to North America or certain European countries; it’s happening worldwide. Sociologists Mark Regnerus, W. Bradford Wilcox, and Alysse ElHage argue that marriage hasn’t changed. Rather, our expectations for it have, and the church may be its last defense.

Cover Story

COVID-19 Is Killing the Soulmate Model of Marriage. Good.

Cover Story

Can the Church Save Marriage?

Your Unbelieving Friends Need More Stories Than Syllogisms

News

The Trinity Is Missing from Christian Worship Music

Reply All

The Redemption of Interfaith Dialogue

News

Local Churches Seize the Initiative of Bible Translation

News

Gleanings: July 2020

News

For Third-Party Christians, Some Things Are More Important Than Winning

News

Refugee Converts Aren’t ‘Fraudsters,’ German Pastors Say

The God of Good Manners?

Life Amid the Ruin

Excerpt

Science and Scripture Agree: Singing Lifts Our Spirits

New & Noteworthy Books

Review

Even Among Well-Meaning Christians, ‘Born Again’ Is Often Misunderstood

Review

The Speed of Our Souls—and Our Soles

Hope Beyond a Vaccine

Testimony

The Tirade That Made Me a Christian

Welcome to Christian Camps’ Weirdest, Hardest Summer

Want to Love Your Neighbor? Start By Fighting Your Own Sin.

White Evangelicals Have a Complicated Relationship with Christian Nationalism

The Old Testament Tells All

View issue

Our Latest

My Book Sales Stink. But I’m Glad I Took the Publishing Plunge.

Even though the experience bruised my ego, God redeemed it in surprising ways.

Latino Christians Deserve a Straight Answer on Immigration

The Russell Moore Show

A Conversation with Peggy Noonan

The Pulitzer Prize winner ponders who we are and what we may become.

A Better Trans Conversation

As the Supreme Court hears oral arguments on youth gender medicine, Christians must prepare to speak with love while holding fast to biblical truth.

Ethics Aren’t Graded on a Curve

President Joe Biden’s pardon of Hunter Biden was wrong, and no amount of bad behavior from Donald Trump changes that fact.

News

UK Christians Lament Landmark Vote to Legalize Assisted Dying 

Pro-life faith leaders say Parliament’s proposed bill fails to protect the vulnerable and fear it will “create more suffering and chaos.”

Strike Up the Band: Sixpence None the Richer Goes Back on Tour

With its perennial hit “Kiss Me” still in our ears and on our playlists, the Christian band reunites with nothing to prove.

Christianity Today’s Book of the Year

Two volumes rose to the head of the class.

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube