Should marriage be a legal contract between individuals or a non-binding relationship based on love? Why?

In light of the changing social circumstances in today’s world, where women are no longer financially dependent on men, views on marriage have also changed with times. In traditional societies, there is a social stigma associated with singles who cannot find a mate but polygamous relationships are usually frowned upon, except for some Muslims who believe that it is the religious obligation of men to several wives. However, the increasing trend of singles preferring to stay unmarried in developed countries these days shows that it is now socially acceptable to remain single.

People marry for a variety of reasons; some marry as a culmination of love while others marry for money and there are those who are forced to marry against their own will as in the case of forced match-making in some traditional societies. In the modern context of today’s world, more and more feel that it is superfluous to make marriage a legal contract if the relationship is rooted on love. Nevertheless, it would be an idealistic thinking to assume that marriage based on a non-binding relationship rooted on love would work out for all couples as not everyone marries for love. A more realistic approach would be to make marriage a legal contract.

A recent survey in Singapore this year showed that couples who have been married for more than a decade made up most of the divorce cases. With trends and statistics in developing countries pointing to increasing divorce rates, it is clear that some couples do fall out of love. Thus, a non-binding marriage would engender social problems as people can simply walk out of their marriage as and when they like and throw away their responsibilities. In the end, the ones who would suffer the most are young children of the couples.

By making marriage a legal contract, one would have to abide by the laws and take responsibility in their relationship. One would then think twice about divorcing as it is a long and complicated process, not to mention the legal costs involved. As a result, couples would be more willing to reconcile rather give up on each other. Also, couples will also be less likely to engage in extramarital affairs as they would not want to endanger their relationship which could lead to divorce.

However, the consequence of making marriage a legal contract is that more singles may choose to remain unmarried as they do not want to be tied down by marriage for this would entail curtailing their social activities. Nevertheless, after weighing the pros and cons, I think marriage should be a legal contract between individuals.