JULY 18, 2003
UPDATED NOV. 18, 2003

CULTURE
A guide to covering marriage issues

Marriage - one of the most basic institutions of American life - is now also one of its most studied, questioned and contested. Efforts to define, limit or expand who can marry in civil and religious ceremonies have hit fever pitch. ReligionLink offers legal and religious background on the issues of same-sex marriage and "traditional" marriage promotion, along with national and regional experts on all sides of the debate.

Interest has heightened and debate deepened because of recent events:

• The Massachusetts Supreme Court's Nov. 18, 2003, ruling that gays have a right to marry under the state constitution. (See a Nov. 18, 2003 New York Times story.)
• The Episcopalians' decision to consecrate the Rev. Canon Gene Robinson as bishop coadjutor of New Hampshire. The consecration of Bishop Robinson, who is openly gay and has been in a committed relationship for 13 years, has brought calls for schism in the church. (See Episcopal News Service coverage.)
• Canadian court rulings that legalized same-sex marriage in Ontario and British Columbia.
• President Bush's announcement that he has government lawyers working on legislation that would define marriage as being between a man and a woman. (Read a Oct. 28, 2003,CNN story.)
• The U.S. Supreme Court’s June 26, 2003 ruling in Lawrence v. Texas that said that criminalizing private, consensual homosexual sex violated Americans’ right to privacy. (See related ReligionLink tip.)
• The Vatican's new instructions, released July 31, 2003, asking bishops and Roman Catholic politicians to help halt the increasing legal acceptance of gay marriage. Read a July 31, 2003, CNN.com story. Read the text of the Vatican document, posted by The New York Times.
• The U.S. government's promotion of marriage through welfare legislation (see below).
• On Oct. 12, 2003, then-Gov. Gray Davis signed a law making California the first state to require businesses with large state contracts to offer domestic partners the same benefits that spouses enjoy. Read an Oct. 13 Associated Press story posted at The700Club.org.

Questions for reporters
No one expects these issues to be settled easily or quietly, and the court rulings, legislation and religious policies involved will have far-reaching effects on Americans and their families. Core questions include:
• Studies have shown that marriage benefits spouses' health and happiness and that children do better in two-parent households. Why is it beneficial? Is it beneficial for everyone?
• How has marriage and family structure changed over time? How many people marry, and for how long? How do these factors affect child-rearing?
• In the civil realm, who should define marriage? The U.S. Supreme Court? Congress? State supreme courts? State legislatures? All have played a role.
• Whose responsibility is it to promote and protect marriages? Faith groups? Families? What is government's proper role? What methods have been shown to help keep marriages healthy and intact?
• How do faith groups' beliefs and policies on same-sex marriage affect people's attitudes and actions?

Why it matters
Civil marriage is a rite that affirms love, provides a source of social recognition and is a gateway to legal protections, responsibilities and benefits. For people of faith, a religious marriage ceremony is a sacred blessing and a chance to make a lifelong commitment before God.

Skip to:
Marriage laws and court rulings
• "Defense of marriage" laws
• Covenant marriage laws
• Marriage licenses
• Divorce laws
• Tax policy and marriage
Same-sex marriage
Government promotion of marriage
Religion and marriage
Marriage research and statistics
National sources
Regional sources

Marriage laws and court rulings

• Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute hosts a page on marriage law, with links to recent and landmark decisions concerning marriage by the U.S. Supreme Court and appeals courts. Also included: an overview of the marriage contract. Links are provided to the marriage law statutes of the 50 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. A chart compares features of each jurisdiction's law, noting age of consent with and without parental permission, waiting periods, medical exam requirement and status of common-law marriage.
• The goal of the Marriage Law Project at the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., is to reaffirm the legal definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman through scholarly, legal and educational work. Included on the site are links to current cases about marriage, marital benefits, a proposed federal marriage amendment, same-sex unions and recognition of civil unions. Contact Bill Duncan at 801-422-3201, DuncanW@law.edu.

'DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE' LAWS
• Thirty-seven states have adopted Defense of Marriage Acts that affirm marriage as a contract between one man and one woman. The Marriage Law Project at Columbus University in Washington, D.C., gives a state-by-state list of links to statutes, pending litigation and case law, and Defense of Marriage Acts.
• In 1996, Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act, which says that states are not required to recognize a same-sex marriage performed in another state. It also effectively bars the federal government from recognizing same-sex unions by defining marriage as "a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife" and spouse as "a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife." Read an Oct. 28, 1996, Christianity Today article.
• In May, U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, R-Colo., introduced a proposal to place a ban on same-sex marriage in the U.S. Constitution. The plan is backed by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn. The proposed Federal Marriage Amendment reads: “Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this constitution or the constitution of any state, nor state or federal law, shall be construed to require that marital status or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups.”

COVENANT MARRIAGE LAWS
• Three states - Arkansas, Louisiana and Arizona - have adopted so-called covenant marriage laws, which make it more difficult to obtain a no-fault divorce. A couple chooses, at the time of marriage or later, to undertake a modified contract that requires them to try marriage education or counseling before their marriage, and before divorce. Read about the numerous other states that have considered bills.

• Read about the Covenant Marriage Movement.
• Americans for Divorce Reform supports cultural and legislative efforts to reduce divorce. The site has links to polls, statistics and legislation.

MARRIAGE LICENSES
• About.com maintains a state-by-state list of marriage license requirements.

DIVORCE LAWS
• Skip to the bottom of the page at Divorcelaw.com to find a hyper-linked list of divorce laws and resources in each state.

TAX POLICY AND MARRIAGE
• Iris Lav, deputy director of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington, D.C., has been a major force in the State Fiscal Analysis Initiative, a network of state organizations working on state budget and tax issues. Lav can talk about the effects of marriage-related tax policies at the state and federal levels, and she often speaks to religious groups about the effect of budget and tax policies on social justice issues. Contact: 202-408-1080, Lav@cbpp.org.

Same-sex marriage

• Vermont is the only state that sanctions civil unions between people of the same sex. The law has been in effect since July 2000. Read the state's guide to civil unions and the text of the 1999 Vermont Supreme Court decision, which said, "The state is constitutionally required to extend to same-sex couples the common benefits and protections that flow from marriage under Vermont law." That decision, Baker v. State of Vermont, gives same-sex couples the legal benefits of marriage, if not the actual title "marriage." However, gay couples wed in Vermont do not have the rights of married couples in other states or under federal law.
• The Massachusetts Supreme Court Nov. 18, 2003, ruling was in a case brought by seven same-sex couples whose requests for state marriage licenses were rejected.
• Courts in Hawaii and Alaska both issued rulings similar to the ones in Massachusetts and Vermont, but both state legislatures then adopted constitutional amendments that limited marriage to heterosexual couples.
• Some cities and counties around the country have enacted "domestic partner" laws that allow same-sex couples to have a few benefits of marriage or register as a couple for the purposes of inheriting or sharing insurance benefits. Lambda Legal has a state-by-state map.
• Read a timeline of events related to gay marriage in America, posted by Lambda Legal.

POLLS
• A national survey in October 2003 by the Pew Research Center for The People & The Press and the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life concluded that religious beliefs underpin many Americans' opposition to homosexuality.
• A July 30, 2003, Gallup Poll found that Americans' support for legalized homosexual relations has dropped from 60 percent to 48 percent in the two months since the U.S. Supreme Court's Lawrence v. Texas decision.
• A July 30, 2003 CBS News/New York Times poll found that 55 percent of Americans would oppose a law allowing homosexuals to marry, while 40 percent would favor it.
• A June 30, 2003, poll by USA Today/CNN/Gallup found that resistance to gay marriage continues to decline, particularly among the young. Read the USA Today story. See the poll results (go to question 17).
• Read a July 11, 2003, poll of Americans’ attitudes toward homosexuality by the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research.
• A March 4, 2003, Wirthlin poll for the Alliance for Marriage found that a majority of Americans favor a constitutional amendment that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

Government promotion of marriage

• Two primary goals of 1996 federal welfare reform were reducing the number of people on welfare and "the formation and encouragement of two-parent families." Congress must now reauthorize the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act in order to extend funding. The legislation, which has passed the House, calls for spending $300 million a year on marriage grants for counseling, public advertising campaigns and education. The government has said faith groups may help with these initiatives.
• The Healthy Marriage Initiative is also included in two other legislative proposals: The Responsible Fatherhood Act of 2003 would amend the Social Security Act to provide grants to promote responsible fatherhood and marriage. Grant recipients could include faith-based organizations. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2003 calls for responsible fatherhood block grants to states and establishes a national clearinghouse that would encourage marriage through counseling and education.
• These states began promoting marriage as a result of the 1996 welfare legislation:

• Read a June 3, 2003, story from the Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy posted at the Center for Religion and Civic Culture's web site about current government proposals to encourage marriage and reaction from critics and supporters.
• Watch for a detailed, state-by-state study of activities to promote marriage and two-parent families, scheduled for release in early fall by Theodora Ooms and Mary Parke, analysts for the Center for Law and Social Policy, based in Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, see Ooms' and Parke's 2002 briefing paper on the same subject, "More Than a Dating Service? State Activities Designed to Strengthen and Promote Marriage."
• Read a policy brief by Maggie Gallagher of the Institute for American Values outlining how government can and should promote marriage.
• Read an executive summary of report on welfare reform by Alternatives to Marriage, which criticizes marriage as solution to poverty.

POLLS
• A March 20, 2002, Pew Research Center poll found that 79 percent of Americans say the government should not develop programs to encourage people to get and stay married.

Religion and marriage

Other than one denomination that primarily serves gays and lesbians, no religious denomination has officially endorsed same-sex marriage. A couple have allowed clergy to choose whether to perform same-sex union ceremonies. However, it is not easy to say where many religious groups stand on gay marriage because it is one of the most divisive topics within most faith groups. Within most denominations - whatever their stand on gay marriage or ordination - there is a group of dissenters, and annual meetings regularly include heated debate, votes and reports on the topic.

Most of the religious voices speaking out about marriage - whatever their views - are Christian. However, court rulings and legislation affect all Americans of all beliefs.

Here are some faith groups that are notable for their stands:

• The Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the country with 16 million members, opposes same-sex marriage. Read the Southern Baptist Convention's endorsement of the Federal Marriage Amendment.
• In 2000 Reform Judaism voted to allow rabbis to perform gay unions. Read the text of their resolution.
• The United Church of Christ, a mainline Protestant denomination of about 600,000 members, began ordaining homosexuals in 1980, and its clergy are free to perform same-sex marriages.
• The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, with 46,000 members, is a denomination that has "special outreach to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities" and performs gay marriages.
• Some people liken the movement for gay marriage to the Civil Rights movement, but some African-American church leaders disagree. Bishop George McKinney of San Diego's St. Stephen's Church of God in Christ, a church in one of the largest African-American denominations in the country, has said that gay rights efforts are not analogous to the Civil Rights movement. Contact 619-262-2671.

IN SUPPORT OF MARRIAGE
Faith groups nearly universally are concerned about family and marriage, and most have programs or initiatives designed to strengthen marriages. Here are a few:
• Marriage Savers promotes preparation for, strengthening and restoring marriages, and claims that divorce rates have dropped significantly in towns that used their plan. More than 170 cities and towns in 38 states have signed "community marriage contracts" in which local clergy pledge to require couples to do at least four months of marriage preparation. Marriage Savers also helps individual churches set up marriage mentoring programs. Contact 301-469-5873.
• Focus on the Family, an evangelical Christian ministry led by Dr. James Dobson, supports "traditional marriages" with publications, broadcasts and other efforts.
• The Family Research Council is a nonprofit educational organization formerly affiliated with Focus on the Family.
• The Christian Family Movement is a Catholic organization of families for the promotion of marriage and family life.
• Presbyterian Mariners supports marriage and family with educational information, small groups and other efforts.

Marriage research and statistics

U.S. CENSUS
• Find statistics under Marital Status and Living Arrangements Data and Marriage and Divorce data. The bureau also tracks the longevity of marriages through its Survey of Income and Program Participation.
• For experts, do a staff search or search by subjects under Population.
• Contact Martin O'Connell, population branch chief, at 301-763-2406 or Jason Fields, a family demographer in the Fertility and Family branch, at 301-763-2416.
• The Census Bureau also follows trends through its population surveys, statistical samples conducted every two years, which follow changes in family and household makeup. Researchers found that about seven in ten of the nation's 72.3 million children under 18 lived with two parents in 2002. See the 2002 report "Children's Living Arrangements and Characteristics."

OTHER RESEARCH
• The Center for Demography and Ecology at the University of Wisconsin conducts the National Survey of Families and Households. The newest survey data will be released in late fall. Contact survey researchers James A. Sweet, 608-262-8385; and Larry Bumpass, 608-262-2182.
• The Marriage Project at Rutgers University recently updated its "The State of Our Unions: The Social Health of Marriage in America, 2003," an annual compendium of trends and data about marriage, divorce, family circumstances of children and teen attitudes. Contact Professor David Popenoe: 732-445-7923, DPOPENOE@RCI.RUTGERS.EDU.
• At Jesuit Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., the Center for Marriage and Family does research on marriage, publishes that research and uses the findings to develop pastoral strategies for supporting healthy Christian marriage. Director Michael G. Lawlor has written extensively about the Catholic Church's history and changing attitudes regarding marriage. Contact 402-280-2908.
• Read "Are Married Parents Really Better for Children? What Research Says About the Effects of Family Structure on Child Well-Being," a briefing paper by Mary Parke at the Center for Law and Social Policy in Washington, D.C. Parke summarizes research on the effects of family structure on child well-being, discusses complexities and identifies issues not explored, concluding that while research largely supports the notion that, on average, children do best when raised by two married, biological parents in a low-conflict relationship, discussions of this research are too often oversimplified. Contact Parke and colleague Theodora Ooms, a longtime analyst of the effects of marriage policy at the state and federal levels, at 202-906-8000. Read other CLASP research briefs on marriage.

Click the map for interview sources in your state and region

National sources

• Professor John Witte Jr. is the Jonas Robitscher Professor of Law and Ethics, director of the Law and Religion Program and director of the Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Religion at Emory University. A specialist in legal history, marriage and religious liberty, he wrote From Sacrament to Contract: Marriage, Religion, and Law in the Western Tradition (Westminster/John Knox Press, 1997). Contact 404-727-6980, jwitte@law.emory.edu.
• Glenn T. Stanton is Focus on the Family senior analyst for marriage and sexuality. Contact David Gasak at 719-548-4570, culturalissues@family.org. Read Stanton’s endorsement of the proposed Federal Marriage amendment.
• Dr. Wade Horn is founder and past president of the National Fatherhood Initiative and assistant secretary of the Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Contact 202-401-2337, WHorn@ACF.HHS.GOV.
• Stephanie Coontz teaches history and family studies at Evergreen State College in Washington state. She is completing a world history of marriage from ancient times to the present. Coontz is co-chairwoman of the nonprofit Council on Contemporary Families, a national association of family researchers and clinicians whose mission is to offer "a more informed and humane discussion of the larger social, legal, cultural and psychological issues that are often simplified under the rubric of 'family values.' " Coontz wrote The Way We Never Were: American Families and the Nostalgia Trap (Basic Books, 2000) and The Way We Really Are: Coming to Terms with America's Changing Families (Basic Books, 1998). Contact 360-867-6703 or 360-352-8117, coontzs@msn.com.
• The Religion, Culture and Family Project at the University of Chicago addresses family issues from a range of theological, historical, legal, biblical and cultural perspectives. Its web site contains an extensive page of links to organizations, religious and otherwise, that study family issues. Contact director Don Browning, who is Alexander Campbell Professor Emeritus of Ethics and the Social Sciences at the University of Chicago's Divinity School and co-author of From Culture Wars to Common Ground: Religion and the American Family Debate (Westminster/John Knox Press, 2000), at 773-702-8275, dsbrowni@midway.uchicago.edu, or the Project at 773-702-9249, Family-project@uchicago.edu.
• Three analysts at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C., specialize in marriage issues. Contact Melissa Pardue, research fellow on welfare policy, family and cultural issues, at 202-608-6169; researcher Robert Rector, who helped draft the 1996 welfare reform act, at 202-608-6213; and psychologist Patrick Fagan, who also works on marriage and family issues, at 202-608-6207.
• Sociology professor Linda J. Waite, at the University of Chicago, has written about why people are happier, healthier and better off financially in marriage. Contact 773-256-6333.
• Andrew Cherlin, professor in the department of sociology at Johns Hopkins University, specializes in research on the sociology of the family and public policy, including welfare reform. Contact 410-516-2370.
• Gilbert Herdt is professor of sexuality and anthropology at San Francisco State University and director of the National Sexuality Resource Center. Contact 415-437- 5121, gilnsrc@sfsu.edu.
• Rabbi Reuven Bulka is author of several books on Jewish family issues and is rabbi of Congregation Machzikei Hadas in Ottawa, Ontario. He has participated in a Jewish marriage enrichment seminar sponsored by the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, which has expressed support for a Federal Marriage Amendment. Contact 613-521-9700, rbulka@cyberus.ca.
• Sylvia Fishman is a professor at Brandeis University who has written and taught about the sociology of Jewish families. Contact 781-736-2065, fishman@brandeis.edu.
• Saba Mahmood is assistant professor of the history of religions at the University of Chicago Divinity School. Her expertise includes the politics of public religious discourse. She spoke about family, community and state at New School University’s 2002 conference Islam: the Public and Private Spheres. Contact 773-702-8266, smahmood@midway.uchicago.edu.
• Azizah Y. Al-Hibri is a professor of law at the T.C. Williams School of Law, University of Richmond. She has written extensively on Muslim women's rights, and she is completing a book on the Islamic marriage contract in American courts. Contact 804-289-8466, aalhibri@richmond.edu.