Is marriage dying? A court decision might grant similar status for different types of relationships. But many argue that marriage remains at the heart of human culture and experience.
X
Next
New York judge opens the door to polyamory
Is marriage dying? A court decision might grant similar status for different types of relationships. But many argue that marriage remains at the heart of human culture and experience.
X
PreviousNext
You will not see it in the headlines. But in the week of COP27The 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as the Conference of the Parties (COP). and the midterms elections, the most important story might have come from a New York court.
It is the result of a routine case. A Mr Anderson was married but lived with another man in a polyamorousHaving multiple romantic relationships at the same time, with everyone's knowledge. relationship. When Anderson died, the landlord said his unmarried partner could not stay.
Judge Karen May Bacdayan disagreed. She ruled that long-term unmarried partners should enjoy the same rights as married ones. And that Anderson's marriage did not affect the rights of his live-in partner.
Marriage is usually defined as a union between two people.1 It is also a legal contract. By giving the legal rights of marriage to Anderson's unmarried partner, Bacdayan has tossed a stone at the idea that marriage is special. And by recognising his three-person relationship as valid, she has flung an even bigger one. Two may no longer be the magic number.
When the history of the 21st Century is written, the switch from two-person relationship to three plus could be the biggest of all.
There are already signs marriage is fading. In the UK, data for 2019 saw the rate of marriages between a man and a woman reach its lowest number since 1882. Meanwhile, a survey found that 41% of millennialsPeople who reached adulthood in the early 21st Century. in the US are interested in polyamory.
Yet marriage is still going strong in many parts of the world. Every year about 2.4 million Americans get married. Around 70% of respondents to a recent survey said that marriage is essential or important to living a fulfilling life.
Attempts to stamp out marriage have often failed. The Oneida Community, a religious group in 19th Century New York, aimed to eliminate all two-person relationships. The year after it collapsed, 70 members entered conventional marriages.
X
Previous
<h5 class=" eplus-wrapper" id="question">Is marriage dying?</h5>
Yes: Oscar Wilde wrote in 1893: "One should always be in love. That is the reason one should never marry." Changing habits, opinions and legal recognition is finally making Wilde's vision come to life.
No: Just look at the numbers. People may be less keen on the idea of marriage. But they keep getting married. If marriage is dying, it will be a slow decline that could easily be reversed.
Or... Marriage has never been just one thing. Societies adapt it to their purposes. In some cultures it is arranged. In others, polygynyWhen a man has more than one wife. is legal. Marriage is not dying. It is changing into something new.
COP27 - The 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as the Conference of the Parties (COP).
Polyamorous - Having multiple romantic relationships at the same time, with everyone's knowledge.
Millennials - People who reached adulthood in the early 21st Century.
Polygyny - When a man has more than one wife.
New York judge opens the door to polyamory
Until divorce do us part? In the UK, half of all marriages end in divorce. Glossary
COP27 - The 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as the Conference of the Parties (COP).
Polyamorous - Having multiple romantic relationships at the same time, with everyone's knowledge.
Millennials - People who reached adulthood in the early 21st Century.
Polygyny - When a man has more than one wife.