Let's not turn marriage into an accredited course in responsible living

In the last decade, it seemed that marriage had become a purely personal matter: nobody really cared if you did it or not. I didn’t particularly like this “whatever” view of marriage, mainly because it goes with the idea that some form of commitment isn’t important in intimate relationships.

Recently, however, there has been a shift to the (in my view even less appealing) idea that people should marry purely for the lifestyle benefits. It’s better, we’re told, for their health, their finances, and their kids. The socially conservative think-tank the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) is particularly keen on this approach, and wants to see this attitude to marriage enshrined in government policy.

I’m bothered by this newfound commitment to commitment. Instead of promoting marriage as a positive decision made by two equals, the CSJ sees it