...defining whether marriage is limited to relationships between a man and a woman or is extended to same sex couples. Gay marriage and gay rights are a major controversy in the world today. It is a constant debate on whether or not traditional marriage is out-of-date and that a new way is better. Although many believe in gay rights, it is difficult to support something that is against the foundation of America, and something that is harmful to the people of America. The Founding Fathers envisioned a government that would promote and encourage Christianity. The founding fathers wanted a firm foundation of christianity for America;...
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...Plan & Essay Topic: Traditional marriage has outlasted its relevance Plan Introduction Paragraph Love is not finding someone you can live with its finding someone you can not live without. Hence the manifestation of an all powerful and binding union name marriage. The Merriam Webster Unabridged Dictionary defined marriage as “the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband and wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law”. Scriptures from the bible states that marriage is a holy and divine established covenant. Traditional marriage is when a man and woman decide to legally recognized their union no matter the place the ceremony is held. For centuries marriage has been a very public institution impacted by tradition, culture, religion and law. Throughout century the institution of marriage has been changing and continues to change. In today’s society the need for simplicity and situational circumstances has lead policy makers to sanction various kinds of marriages, namely marriages with traditional ceremonies, license marriage and common law marriage which requires no particular ceremony. I strongly support the statement that traditional marriage has not outlasted its relevance. Many religions dictate that all its followers must enter into the marriage contract before the practice of any sexual relation; traditional marriage elevates ones status in the community or at work; traditional marriage promotes economic security...
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...Traditional Marriage vs. Modern Day Marriage Communications 215 Traditional Marriage vs. Modern Day Marriage Traditional Marriage is the social institution under which a man and a woman establish their decision to live as husbands and wife by legal commitments and religious ceremonies. Also defined as the state, condition or relationship of being married; wedlock. Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on culture or subculture in which it is found. (Merriam, 1967) Such a union, often formalized by way of a wedding ceremony, may also be called matrimony. I will build a foundation of my personal principals and moral values on traditional marriage opposed to modern (same sex) marriage, and their contributions to the American Family. In society today modern same sex marriage (also called gay marriage) is legally and or socially recognized marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. The synonym marriage equality is used especially by supporters of legal recognition of same sex marriage. These two definitions are on very opposite ends of the spectrums in society today. These two very different views have caused a lot of adversity and resistance to the American Family Dream. In closing, my personal viewpoint, religious and political standpoint on the issue may be liberating...
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...Gay Marriage: The Complicated Moral Debate The debate on gay marriage is a complicated one. Many different emotions, ideas, and opinions are formed from the subject. There are some who believe that gay marriage is morally wrong, and damages the foundation of the traditional marriage. Andrew Sullivan, a gay rights activist, stated in his article Here Comes the Groom (New Republic, 2015): The argument that gay marriage would subtly undermine the unique legitimacy of straight marriage is based upon a fallacy…Gay marriage could only delegitimize straight marriage if it were a real alternative to it, and this is clearly not true. Gay marriage is not, in short, a denial of family values. It’s an extension of them. (p. 38) In the religious lens on the topic of gay marriage, traditional Christians believe that homosexuality is a sin, which is why it is usually condemned by the church (Dias, 2015). In addition, there are also people that believe gay marriage should not be a law recognized by the federal or state municipalities because they consider it an ‘alternative lifestyle’, a choice made rather than a biologically inherited trait (Rich, 2015). In the next few paragraphs, I will discuss the history of legalization of gay marriage in America, the religious communities’ outlook on the subject of gay marriage, how Hollywood has influenced the gradual acceptance of gay marriage by showing more homosexual people in media, and also discuss some of the psychological and sociological effects...
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...A Traditional Marriage Jason Lafrades University of Phoenix Business Communications and Critical Thinking 275 Kathy Rodriguez-Abbott July 25, 2013 A Traditional Marriage John R. Guardiano wrote an article in the American Spectator titled, “Why Gay ‘Marriage Equality’ Is Bad for America and Hurts Children.” In his article, he argues that gay marriage is not “traditional.” His idea of a traditional marriage is one between a man and woman, which he considers to be the foundation for a strong family. He calls a gay union a direct undermining of the sanctity of marriage. He argues that families with a mother and father will raise stronger children with less socioeconomic boundaries. He states that without a union between a man and woman, there is no chance for a “strong in-tact family.” Therefore, with the support of gay marriage he believes that children will be bombarded with drugs, crime, and poverty because of a missing “family” link. Guardiano also argues that “Fatherless children” are more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, become incarcerated, and have reduced educational achievements. He says that gay marriage has a direct effect on this because it deprives a child of a father or mother. He concludes his article in stating that not all fatherless and motherless children are doomed to fail, but by further undermining marriage through “misplaced notions of equality” children are just one step further from becoming well-adjusted and successful into adulthood. (Guardiano...
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...The State of America Today Take a moment and think back 1970. Was same sex marriage widely accepted as a social norm? Was coming out even supported? Should anyone have the right to deny another human being their right to pursue happiness? For a country that claims to be the land of the free but denies certain people of the same rights because of sexual orientation is beyond despicable. Same sex marriage can help our county by raising money, decreasing the number of orphans and decreasing depression. So what is there to lose? Is same sex marriage the business of the public? Some would argue yes, because marriage has traditionally been defined as a contract between man and woman (“Gay Marriage ProCon.org., 1-1). But is there really such a thing as traditional marriage? Every marriage is unique its own way and over the centuries has changed significantly (“Gay Marriage ProCon.org., 2-1), for example polygamy (a marriage between one man and many women) used to be a common or “traditional” marriage practice, but is now illegal and deemed immoral. Same sex marriages can help bring financial gains to state and local governments. Collecting higher income taxes and reduces the costs for state benefit programs not to mention the money collected from the marriage license (“Gay Marriage ProCon.org., 5-2). Not only that, but since same sex couples cannot conceive their own children they tend to adopt which would decrease the number of children without families (“Gay Marriage ProCon.org...
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...is no longer exactly how it looked 60 years ago. Twenty-first century culture has opened the door for many new views including the redefining of the typical structure of a family; in today’s world the model family is no longer just between a male and a female but also includes homosexual couples (Male/Male or Female/Female). Before complying with the definition of how the traditional family should be, we must be able to first define what a marriage truly is. Marriage as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary is “the intimate or close union of two individuals”, though the definition seems stable enough it isn’t the only definition of marriage and the idea of marriage itself is actually quite wide spread as we see in Evan Wolfson’s “What is Marriage?” Wolfson mentions in his article that marriage is sometimes for love but not always, it is the union of two people and the government received on a flimsy piece of paper and is also sometimes done in the vicinities of a courthouse or a religious building (Wolfson). In relation to Wolfson’s long rant about what marriage is, he brings up a point about gay marriage and how today culture is...
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...Traditional Chinese Cultural Review - Draft Traditional Chinese culture must be viewed through the lens of cultural relativism to avoid misunderstandings which would ultimately transpire into ethnographic separatist’s ideals. Marriage, kinship, and family, encased by Confucius ideology, trademarks traditional Chinese culture and its patriarchal society as both intriguing and fascinating. The complexity to understanding marriage in the agrarian-state society of traditional Chinese culture is interpreting the cultural context as it relates to Confucianism, social hierarchy, family lineage, economic status, a division of labor and gender stratification. Agrarian-State Society An agrarian society is one whose socio-economics is based on the cultivation...
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...GAY MARRIAGE SPEECH Intro * Society is evolving – We elected our first black President, in fact, a woman was even a real Presidential contender as well – the traditional roles of the working family do not look so traditional anymore * I am going to discuss the subject of gay marriage – while we as a society have made great strides we are still far from an acceptable solution * Whether you believe in same-sex marriage or not, I ask that you keep your mind open and listen to my points. I will give a few of many reasons why I believe it is finally time for us as Americans, as humans, to allow everyone, include those from our gay community, to experience the same joys of marriage that the rest of society enjoys. 1. We do not want to discriminate a. America was founded on the concept that the majority should rule, but the rights of minorities should be protected. b. It is the main reason we have a Bill of Rights as well as anti-slavery and equal protection amendments. c. Denying marriage to a homosexual couple is no different than denying marriage to a Hispanic or African-American couple 2. Reasons why gay marriage is beneficial a. In a religious marriage two people promise to take care of each other profoundly the way they believe God cares for them. b. This religious union will encourage people to have strong family values c. It will discourage high-risk sexual life-styles d. In essence, recognizing this union will counter act...
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... Final Paper Marriage and Family The simplest and most basic foundation of a sociological civilization or group begins at the core center of sociology; which is marriage and the inner-fabric creation of a family. It is said that matches are made in heaven, however finding and defining your “soul mate” differs from one social group to the next. The social institution of marriage changes and adapts consistently through time, religious practice, and national beliefs. Many people believe they lead happy and satisfying lives without a marital partner, as others highly value and desire a life-long marital partner as the pinnacle achievement of their life. The uniqueness of marriage is that every race, class, religion, and country is involved one way or another in that social institution. One particular reason is the need to reproduce and add new members to a group. Margaret Anderson and Howard Taylor in Sociology: The Essentials mention the concept of a functionalism. Functionalism is defined as a theoretical perspective that interprets each part of society in terms of how it contributes to the stability of the whole society. The creation and upbringing of a son or daughter in a marriage fulfills society’s needs. Whether the upbringing of a child is conducted properly and positively varies by family, but sexual reproduction accomplishes the selfless task of adding to a society. The traditional Functionalist Theory in the United States of America interprets the proper family...
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...whether same-sex marriage is wrong and whether it is not. Before this essay is started out, here are a few interesting facts on homosexuality and same-sex marriage. The Netherlands was the first nation to legalize same sex marriage (in 2001). Same sex marriage is outlawed in 76 countries as of 2013. These are just a few out of the ma ny facts about homosexuality/same-sex marriage. This essay has several key points to why same-sex marriage is okay. Same sex marriage/attraction is not a sin and the Bible and history is wrong about the definition of ‘traditional marriage’, it does not affect heterosexual values/attraction, it increases the number of adopted orphans, I) Traditional marriage (same sex marriage isn’t considered a traditional marriage because its same sex) isn’t historically/culturally accurate a. The Random House Dictionary (circa 1970) defines marriage as “the state of being married”. Today, many Americans like to define marriage as “a bond between a man and a woman only”. Traditionally, Christians (who make up America’s religion census) oppose the concept of same-sex marriage because in the Bible it is viewed as a “sin”. Protest and posters that read “Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve” and “God hates fags” all because same sex marriage isn’t “traditional” marriage. The shocking thing is that it isn’t just Christians who believe this; several other major world religions such as Islam and Judaism both view homosexuality and same sex marriage as a sin. In the...
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...Is homosexual marriage a right or privilege? Julie Camp PHI: 103 Informal Logic Instructor: Stephen Krogh September 24, 2013 Is Homosexual marriage a right or privilege? Informal logic is used to provide reasoning’s to assist in examining an argument. A conclusion needs well supporting evidence to provide productive and positive results. A political argument today is on homosexual marriage. My argument will be that the union of homosexual marriage does not have strong enough reasons to provide a productive and positive result because first, God created the institution of marriage, moreover going against the values and morals this country was built on, lastly same sex marriage will not produce a fruitful union. First, God created the institution of marriage between opposite sexes. A nation build on Christianity and under god, religious beliefs found to be just as important as the political one on equality. Traditionalist argue that marriage between a man and a woman should not be changed because of “prism of contemporary American society” (Campbell & Robinson, 2007, p. 131). This is the refracting of understanding of scripture. As Montgomery (2003) states in Kingston-Whig Standard “God is still the supreme ruler of this land, and neither the multicultural program of liberalism nor the strong homosexual political machine can change that, no matter how hard they try” ( para. 8) . Regarding the war on gay marriage the public opinion constitutes a “hard case” for the...
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...Just because someone doesn’t love the same way as you do does not make them wrong or make them crazy, it makes them unique. Majority of people around the world feel that marriage should be between a man and a woman and that gays should not have that right because they believe being gay is morally wrong. But if by using the utilitarian approach we could see that by legalizing same-sex marriage we will not only benefit the people but also the economy. Would the end justify the means? First legalizing same-sex marriage would bring in between $20 million and $40 million more per year in taxes, according to University of Michigan. In The 2000 U.S. Census Bureau reported that there are 601,209 unmarried same-sex partner households in the United States living in 99.3% of all counties in the nation. Now imagine that numbers of people will begging to prepare weeding plans if same-sex marriage became legal in all the states. The utility of this approach will maximize the economy of our country and will also increase the collective happiness of the people who can finally marry those that they love. According to Bride's Magazine, “the average wedding costs $19,000”. Two hundred-fifty thousand more marriages at the average wedding rate would result in wedding costs of $4.75 billion! Mind you, this doesn't include the amount spent on wedding gifts. Same-sex weddings could create hundreds of new jobs after all they will need flowers, cakes, hotels, photographers and other wedding services...
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...Kaelan Bush English 50 Sarah Faulkner 30 January 2014 Marriage in Today’s Society In the essay “For Better, For Worse: Marriage Means Something Different Now” Coontz describes on how she played a character on a show that abandoned the values of a traditional family and encouraged young Americans to abandon marriage (Avins 171). She also begins to talk about the pros and cons of marriage. Also, by giving data “As late as the 1960’s, two-thirds of college women in the United States said they would marry a man they didn’t fall in live if he met all their other, often economic, criteria” (Avins 172). In most cases being married is a personal goal, but it can also affect families. Americans have their own opinions about marriage. It all comes down to the individual and how they look at the aspect of marriage. Some people like idea of being single and live their life by the way they think life should be lived. Then there is the other idea of the traditional marriage, which is being married to a partner that you would want to live the rest of your life with. There are pros and cons for each way and how they affect society. Living the single life has its ups and downs. Men and women tend to fine on their own and are able to find a stable job. Single women tend to marry a man they do not love even though they fit into their criteria economically. Men are also the same way and feel obligated to marry if the woman fits his criteria just because. Single mothers have played...
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...Many people opposed the possession of birth control because they feared that women, especially young girls, would practice sexual activities before marriage. However, women would still find ways of getting a hold of some form on contraception, regardless of what people would say. For the first time in history, women had the decision to wait to have children or not. Birth control came as a liberator for women to have control over their decisions regarding readiness for child bearing. The birth control pill allowed married women to plan and space children to, allowing them the ability to plan for careers and other educational opportunities. This lead women to obtain increased equality in their marriage. The pill did not unleash a sexual revolution, instead, it allowed women to increase their enjoyment of married life. Young women were not persuaded to take the pill, which some people believed that it did and eventually create a sexual revolution. People were wrong about this assumption because young girls began to take the pill after they were regularly having sexual relations, not before. Since the trend towards sexual freedom began so gradually, and given that most...
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