Week 7 - Covenant Marriage

There was a section in this week's reading that sparked my interest. This is from page 422:

The high divorce rate in the United States and the reasons typically cited for getting divorced have sparked a controversial approach to keeping couple together, termed covenant marriage, which makes divorce harder to obtain.

It's a throwaway reference; no further explanation is offered. I have preconceptions. The word "covenant" is a loaded one for conservative evangelicals, and I am a progressive on the episcopal-agnostic spectrum. So, full disclosure, I'm expecting to dislike this.

But let's find out!

Covenant Marriage is a matter of state law in Louisiana, Arkansas and Arizona; other states have attempted (and failed) to enact similar legislation. Broadly speaking, it is an option available to couples getting married. Couples who are already married can also convert to a Covenant Marriage. In states where it is available, it's used by about 1%-3% of married couples. It can be thought of an "enhanced" marriage, with extra requirements at the front (pre-marital counseling) and the back (more limited grounds for divorce, and counseling then as well.) The force of contract is limited to those states with Covenant Marriage laws in place - once you've moved away you can have a regular old divorce anytime.

What is being taught? This is the first thing I found when I started searching (emphasis added):

Covenant couples actively create a nuanced, complex story about harmony in marriage that involves women’s subordination to men. In fact, covenants defuse the stigma of gender subordination by casting sanctified marriage as a service to God.

That's sociologist Elizabeth Baker, writing in the Journal of Family Issues in 2009. Now, subordination - I read that as a bad thing, but Baker goes on to point out that both parties enter into it with eyes open and a clear understanding of how they see each other's roles. In the best-case scenario, they:

...routinely discuss a new hybrid form of gender traditionalism which incorporates emotional ethics of mutuality, respect, and egalitarianism.

Our book points out that selecting a mate works best with homogamy - shared values and interest. If a man and a woman agree that a woman's role is to be subordinate, their best shot at a happy marriage may be one that codifies that and allows them to find a mutually respectful way to go about it.

The ACLU hates it. Joe Cook, head of the Louisiana ACLU: "[A covenant marriage] may turn out to be a horror story...if you have an abusive situation or molestation that might occur. It's a step back in time in terms of making it difficult for someone-especially women-to get out of a bad situation."

It's also worth noting that Covenant Marriage is something of a non-starter. It was big news for a while - Louisiana state senator Tony Perkins pushed it through, talking about 'redefining' marriage in this way while resisting efforts to 'redefine' it to include same-sex couples. George W. Bush promoted it to the national stage. But as noted above, there's a 1-3% participation rate where available. It's been defeated in legislature in at least 20 other states. Covenant Marriage is not really happening. The cultural forces that introduced it are still very much around, though, so it's worth understanding what it was.

References:

• Baker, E., Sanchez, L., Nock, S., & Wright, J. (2009). Covenant marriage and the sanctification of gendered marital roles. Journal Of Family Issues, 30(2), 147-178. [full text available at this link]
• Covenant marriage. (2013, March 14). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 22:24, May 19, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Covenant_marriage&oldid=544189995
• Robinson, B.A. (2008, January 6). Covenant marriages: Marriage with a difference:Harder to get into, harder to get out of. Retrieved from http://www.religioustolerance.org/mar_cove.htm