Egocentric Culture Losing the Purpose of Marriage
By Kathryn Hooks
August 3, 2005

(AgapePress) - The supremacy of autonomy in our society pervades every avenue of the culture -- including the institution of marriage. Same-sex marriage debates heat up the political and cultural front lines as homosexual activists argue for their rights to express their sexual feelings and normalize them through redefining marriage. While same-sex marriage claims center stage in the marriage debate, the homosexual's view of marriage as a self-serving institution is manifesting itself in heterosexual marriage trends as well.

Traditionally, society has viewed procreation and the raising of children as a central purpose for the institution of marriage, and family-centered communities have represented an integral part of the American way of life. However, this view is in decline as the national birth rate decreases and culture caters to divorce and cohabitation with little regard for the detrimental consequences children face in broken and fragile families. In July, The National Marriage Project -- an initiative located at New Jersey's Rutgers University -- released its The State of Our Unions 2005, an analysis of the state of marriage in America, and a key finding highlighted this decline in the child-centeredness of our nation's homes.

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