Not tying the knot
Virgil:
February 21st, 2007
The number of marriages taking place in Britain has been on a decline, and this year is at its lowest since records began in 1862. Only 2.4% of the unmarried men in Britain finally got married in 2005. Another trend also shows that the age of marriage is rising, now being at an average of 36 for men and 33 for women. It seems that people are finding the idea of marriage less and less appealing.
The Church is worried by these figures, reinforcing its teachings that “marriage is the best option for couples to grow together in mutual support.” However, the last reason I’d be worried over this issue would be for religious reasons. What would be upsetting would be if people had lost hope altogether in committed relationships, or just didn’t want such things anymore.
Although marriage seems to be the paradigm of such a relationship, its difficult to tell what to make of this information. Although marriages are decreasing, the amount of long-term relationships aren’t. Nevertheless, it would be sad indeed if the trend continued, because it would be a loss of romance, and romance seems to have been the driving force of all civilisation since time began. It would be a loss of what makes love even more exciting.