cohabitation

Earlier this month, David Ayers at the Institute for Family Studies found that nearly half of evangelical Protestants aged 15-22 who were not currently cohabiting or married, said that they would probably or definitely cohabit in the future.

The rise of cohabitation has followed not only a shift of attitudes about out-of-wedlock sex, but about the institution of marriage itself. Several years ago, another Pew study found that more than half of young people in America thought marriage was “obsolete.”

Are married couples more satisfied than those who cohabit? For the first time in history, more Americans have lived with a romantic partner than have married one.

Earlier this month, 24 couples held hands and committed to a lifetime of marriage in the fourth annual “Grand Wedding” at Dallas-based Concord Church, as reported by Christianity Today.

A Dallas church is challenging cohabitating couples to stop living together – and it’s offering a free wedding and wedding reception to those who follow through with marriage.

The offer includes free dresses, tuxedos, wedding rings, cake and a wedding reception. It also includes 10 weeks of counseling and the first month’s rent for living separately.

“If you commit today, we will have you married in the next 90 days,” pastor Bryan L. Carter of Concord Church in Dallas told the congregation Sunday.

The goal, he added, was to give cohabitating couples “a pathway in the honoring of God in your relationship.”

“Church is not just about calling up where we're short, but the church is also a place where you can find hope and healing and restoration and redemption for wherever you might be in your life,” he said to applause.

It is the fourth time Concord Church has given the offer – or “challenge” – to members. About 60 couples have accepted it and been married.

“This is your time now,” he said.

Preaching from Hebrews 13:4, Carter listed five myths of living together before marriage:

Photo courtesy: Concord Church

It turns out that marriage has a distinct benefit that the hookup culture and cohabitation frequently lack. That benefit is happiness.

More Christian couples are choosing to cohabit before marriage, according to a Gallup poll.

An alliance of conservative Catholics and evangelical Protestants is set to issue a manifesto against gay marriage that calls same-sex unions “a graver threat” than divorce or cohabitation.

Catholic leaders wrapped up their two-week Vatican summit on the challenges of modern family life without reaching a consensus on a number of hot-button topics. So where does that leave the church?

Has the Christian emphasis on marriage come at the expense of other equally important groups like singles?