Traditional Marriage Essay Example for Free

Traditional Marriage Essay â€Å"In Sacred Rite or Civil Right,† Howard Moody, a Baptist minister, discusses his inner thoughts on the subject of marriage. He explains the tradition of marriage and informs the rights and freedoms of the people along with describing how it all affects people whether they are against it or with it. Most Christians of all denominations believe that a â€Å"traditional marriage† is the union between two people of the opposite sex and only have one significant other. Moody explains, â€Å"Christians feel superior about their ‘tradition’ of marriage, I would remind them that their scriptural basis is not as clear about marriage as we might hope† (353 Moody). He discusses how in the Bible that some important men have more than one wife and some children have different mothers and fathers. Most people forget this or choose not to see it that way. They â€Å"seem to be unaware of the real history of the institution of marriage† (Mataconis). Anti-gay religious groups and anti-gay individuals are people who discriminate gays and lesbians and believe that they should not be given a â€Å"traditional marriage† because they view them as sinful and damned in hell for all eternity. Moody explains that these religious groups and individuals do not realize that their so called â€Å"traditional marriage† isn’t as what it seems to be. In earlier periods of time, such as the 1700s and 1800s, â€Å"Marriage was about property and power rather than mutual attraction. It was a way of forging political alliances, sealing business deals, and expanding the family labor force. For many people, marriage was an unavoidable duty† (Mataconis). As Mataconis states, a â€Å"traditional marriage† was thought of as a legal contract; that a couple who was to be married should be married under certain circumstances, not out of love as people nowadays believe it to be. Freedoms and rights are also huge according to Moody. If freedom of choice means anything to individuals (male or female), it means they have several options. They can be single and celibate without being thought of as strange or psychologically unbalanced†¦ single and sexually active without being labeled loose or immoral†¦ single with [a] child without being thought of as unfit or inadequate† (354 Moody). He believes that if these options were fine with society, the rate of divorce would have never reached as high as nearly 50 percent. He also states the differences of marriage between religion and state. The state sees marriage as a contract between a â€Å"man and woman in order to protect money, property, and children† and religion sees marriage as a spiritual and romantic union between two people (355 Moody). ‘Faith in America’, a group based on religious views, even states, â€Å"Every American citizen has the right and freedom to marry the person they love without regard to race, gender, nationality, religion or any other social category† (FIA). This claims that one’s rights should not be taken away due to any circumstance, whether society views it correct or not. Many people, whether they are for a â€Å"traditional marriage† or not, are either extremely affected by it or just don’t care. Some people just ignore it and don’t bother to say anything while others are constantly bickering about the morality of the matter. Some see same gender marriages as disgraceful, wrong, and incredibly sinful, while others go about their ways and do not give it much attention. Why would we as Americans not want our government and its laws to recognize that same marriage sanctity for gay and lesbian individuals in their pursuit of liberty and happiness? † (FIA). Many see same-sex marriage as a way to gain rights that opposite gender couples have, such as tax breaks, medical insurance, dependency status, retirement benefits, social security benefits and inheritance rights. â€Å"Obviously, the only reason one can discern is that the opponents believe that gay and lesbian people are not worthy of the benefits and spiritual blessings of marriage† (356 Moody). Never the less, whether people agree with it or not, life goes on. In conclusion, everyone has the right to be married to whomever they please, or they should at least be able to live with whoever they want. Though people may see it as immoral, it is a God given right that every person should be able to love whoever they want without discrimination. Is it wrong? That is up to a person’s beliefs, whether society agrees with today’s â€Å"traditional marriage† or not.