My bet is no-one will care, but I'm marrying my fiancee six months today. Who cares, you say. But think about this... Current UK law means you can either be married by an Anglican minister or by a Registrar. Due to ecumenical fun we're getting married in an
Anglican Parish Church with a
URC minister and have to get a registrar to stand in the church. Why the religious difference? Does it matter?
posted by twine42
on Apr 5, 2003 -
27 comments
Religion! What Is It Good For? Absolutely nothing? Perhaps not.
Michael Prowse, a lifelong atheist (and Financial Times columnist even!) had this to say in an article for
Prospect:
"Having accepted that meanings are always contestable, I have found myself more able to focus on what religious people do, and less on what they say. Are they "better" people than the irreligious? Of course not. Are they better people than they would be were they not religious? Probably, and this is what counts for me.".
Meanwhile, another atheist,
Jared Diamond, writing (brilliantly, as the author of
Guns, Germs and Steel always does) in the current
New York Review of Books, addresses religion in a (let us say) more
scientific way and, though more sceptical, leaves a similar question mark hanging. So, in a nutshell: can there be something in (or about) religion for atheists too?
posted by MiguelCardoso
on Oct 29, 2002 -
142 comments
Why Do Marriages Last? Amidst all the
psychobabble and
religious dogmatics you find on this subject, I found
Robyn Parker's review of the relevant literature to be useful, wise and true. After all, aren't the rules of a lasting relationship, whatever your gender or sexuality, the same that govern friendship, loyalty, companionship and
fun? Is marriage the
secretive exception it's made out to be? Are there really any
rules we don't instinctively, from about the age of seven, already know? As some Rabbi once said, the three words that most often save a marriage are not
I love you. They are, in fact:
I was wrong. Not that easy; but not that difficult either...
posted by MiguelCardoso
on Oct 18, 2002 -
36 comments
One big happy family Ottawa granted permission for three wives of a polygamist to stay in Canada permanently and an immigration official has warned that several more applications from polygamists' wives are likely on the way, according to internal government documents obtained by
The Globe and Mail.
The report says the women filled in "housewife" as their occupation on their applications for immigration. They stated they would receive financial assistance from Mr. Blackmore. Under marriage information, they wrote "not available."
posted by orange swan
on Oct 7, 2002 -
39 comments
Do you, Adam, take this man Steve, to be your lawfully wedded husband ... "... a panel of Ontario judges ordered Parliament to broaden its definition of marriage to include gay men and women, the first decision of its kind in Canada. " Rulings on cases in BC and Quebec to follow.
Good news for the Canadian Tourist industry, at any rate. So far the only heartbreak in all this is the utter lack of Crate and Barrel, Williams Sonoma, and Pottery Barn stores in Canada for these people to register at.
posted by kristin
on Jul 14, 2002 -
13 comments
From Big to Aidan to...the ballet dancer? Sex and the City's author and inspiration Candace Bushnell got married to 33-year-old ballet dancer Charles Askegard July 4 on a Nantucket beach in Massachusetts. The couple has only known each other for eight weeks.
posted by stevis
on Jul 9, 2002 -
14 comments
China thrown off balance as boys outnumber girls Poor young men here complain that modern women are too picky. ''Before, it was men choosing women,'' says Liu Xicheng, 21, a migrant worker who came to Beijing from nearby Hebei Province. ''Now it is women choosing men. Some have high quality standards. It is hard to marry them.'' I checked and this isn't from
the Onion.
posted by srboisvert
on Jun 21, 2002 -
20 comments
The author of
this story argues that by disallowing same-sex marriage, social conservatives are actually working to undermine the function marriage plays in society
"The last thing supporters of marriage should be doing is setting up an assortment of alternatives, but that is exactly what the conservatives are doing, and not only for gays." Interesting views i thought, not that i'm so pro-marriage.
posted by rhyax
on May 28, 2002 -
15 comments
NYT: Cousin Marriage A'OK, Says Study
A new article in the
Journal of Genetic Counseling reviewing recent studies on incidence of birth defects among children of cousins finds that the increaed risk is so slight as to not warrant discouraging cousin marriage. Discouraging marriage and conception between first cousins is common in the US although in many societies, the first (cross) cousin is the preferred spouse. (
1,
2)
posted by rschram
on Apr 3, 2002 -
13 comments
Doctor of love anthropologist Helen Fisher argues that romance, marriage and divorce follow predictable patterns as old as the species. The evidence is as near as your local bar. Objective observations about Love and what it means when her toes curl.
posted by stbalbach
on Mar 15, 2002 -
8 comments
What role gender plays in marriage, let alone custody is often debated. However in the case of the
Kantaras custody case in Florida, gender just got more confusing.
He used to be a
she. What constitutes gender? As a transsexual, is he the real "father?" Was their marriage legal? And what's best for the children in this kind of circumstance? Further more, can we really leave it up to Judge Gerard O'Brien to make this decision for all of us? And how did some
other judges feel about this issue?
posted by eatdonuts
on Feb 1, 2002 -
0 comments
28th Amendment to the US constitution? The "Alliance for Marriage" seeks to amend the United States consitution to define Marriage as between a man and a woman
only, which would make it a first constitutional amendment to abrogate rather than protect individual freedoms. Bottom of the page has a link to fax your congressperson if you so choose.
posted by mikojava
on Jan 26, 2002 -
50 comments
A duct tape wedding Sorta like the Rose Bowl, only with duct tape instead of flowers, people instead of floats and marriage instead of a parade connected to a foodball game.
posted by raysmj
on Jan 5, 2002 -
21 comments
Considering marriage? Now, with the RPG
You Stupid Bitch! you can experience the bliss of marriage (or, as the author of the game puts it, "the struggles between two manipulative vipers") with only your imagination and some old D&D dice. In a more literary mood? Try the
Wuthering Heights RPG. [Original link via
Portal of Evil.]
posted by arco
on Sep 29, 2001 -
1 comment
Interested in taming your man? Upon first review of the advice given, I was guffawing, and thinking man what kind of
milksop would this be effective on. After thinking some more about it, I started to wonder if I would be affected by it. I mean would my Pavlovian response to sex, in effect, allow my wife to train me, and would I mind?
posted by patrickje
on Sep 28, 2001 -
11 comments
First step to gay marriage? Or just more money in the coffers for Ken Livingstone (I think they have to pay to register)? I can't see this having any impact outside London.
posted by Summer
on Sep 6, 2001 -
5 comments
How many times have you cheated? Did you feel sorry for it, or did you just enjoy yourself? And did you still love the one you cheated on? How many times would you have to cheat before you admit you aren't really in love with your S.O?
posted by stoneegg21
on Sep 4, 2001 -
31 comments
Oh, those naughty SMILTs. Or single men in their late thirties. Apparently, they mack on all the twentysomething chicks, and get away with it. Twentysomething guys, really, are too desperate to settle down to merit serious attention. "I'm shy and awkward and desparate for love!" Chandler cried as Janice quickly shut the door behind her.
Thanks to textism for the initial link. It's a great time to be 21!
posted by moz
on May 27, 2001 -
14 comments
While Utah makes the move on this "multiple marriage family", maybe we should review our
Polygamy 101. Take special note that while one might support polygamy, it may not follow to support polyandry, bigamy, polyfidelity and-or polyamory. Phew! Let the lines be drawn!
posted by Dick Paris
on May 17, 2001 -
21 comments
Only in Las Vegas... If you're considering an elopement to Las Vegas, but don't want the friends and family to miss out, the
Little White Chapel on the Strip now offers live streaming and on-demand replays of those touching moments when the Elvis impersonator goes into "Falling In Love With You". This is what the net was meant for.
posted by holgate
on May 14, 2001 -
3 comments
"If you've got ovaries, you're a female. I'm just old fashioned."
Acknowledging that there may be more to sex than chromosomes, a Kansas appeals court has overturned a lower court's ruling invalidating the marriage of a transsexual to someone of the (now) opposite sex. Some in the Kansas legislature think this is just some gay radical's way of skirting the same-sex marriage ban. There's an opposing Texas precedent that the Supreme Court refused to hear last year, so this one may go all the way. Sadly, it'll probably fall under the much-maligned equal protection clause. Anyone think this poor woman has a chance?
posted by Gilbert
on May 11, 2001 -
14 comments
"Going Dutch" will never mean the same again. As of today, Dutch law allows same-sex marriages. Though other countries register same-sex couples, this new Dutch law is groundbreaking as it eliminates all references to gender in laws governing marriage, adoption, inheritance, pension rights, taxes and divorce. Even the dictionary's definition of marriage will be changed.
posted by prolific
on Apr 1, 2001 -
18 comments
Following "The Rules"? One of the co-authors of "
The Rules" is getting divorced, even as the third book in the series -- Rules III: Time-Tested Secrets for Making Your Marriage Work-- goes to press.
posted by darren
on Mar 23, 2001 -
16 comments
The Surrendered Wife continues the recidivist trend in best selling "self-help" books by urging wives to "avoid criticising him... and give him lots of oral sex." Can anyone explain why this nonsense sells so well?
posted by Chairman_MaoXian
on Mar 3, 2001 -
13 comments
Move over DotComGuy, looks like you have some competition in the dumb name department. A New Zealand marriage will produce a dotcom couple.
posted by remo
on Mar 1, 2001 -
6 comments
