Although throughout the twentieth century the subject of marriage is linked with white wedding dresses and three tiered whipped cream cakes, it has also broached the question of whether or not the committed couple should live together before the big wedding day. While it is less controversial today than, say, fifty years ago, some still call it "living in sin." The primary objections stem from a religious point of view and those who do choose to cohabit before the ink is dry on the marriage license are subject to criticism.

Maclean's reports that such living arrangements use

Living together may have some effect on an impending marriage. Of course, the obvious effect would be that the couple realizes that they are not right for each other, or marriage is not right for them, and they would not marry at all. There are also those relationships that seem to go on endlessly and never culminate in a commitment, even though one party or another want to make things official. Cohabiting prior to marriage would likely not have much of a positive or negative effect in today's society because the actual relationship would stay the same regardless of the living arrangements. If any effect would be noticeable at all, it would be the effect on the children the couple have or would have in the future of the relationship.

It is interesting to note that during the period from 1960 to 1980, the divorce rate doubled (Nadeau 312). Studies show that divorce was most common in the second year of marriage (312). Because it was also a time that people began to live together more frequently, researchers began to ask if that had anything to do with the increasing divorce rate. But no correlation was found. In fact, Fisher found that even though the number of American couples living together tripled in the seventies, the peak year for divorce among married couples remained the same (312).

Another issue that needs to be brought up, in terms of cohabitation and marriage is the long distance relationship. While married couples generally do live together, with the emergence of relocation trends and two career couples a norm, some choose to live in different cities for convenience. Thus, today, if the traditional breadwinning male must be transferred it is sometimes the case that the wife will remain with the children in their established home, whether or not she has a career. Sometimes it is the career that keeps a spouse from making the move, but sometimes it is a reluctance to pull up roots every three years at a company's whim. Some couples have chosen to stay married but not cohabit. One may wonder how this affects a marriage. While living together before marriage does not seem to affect the couple or family if the marriage does happen within a reasonable period of time, living apart could conceivably pull a co

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American Marriage, , living apart, couples living, people live, married couples, babies born, hao 269, wedlock babies born, apart living apart, poorer individuals, relationship probably, history marriage, church wedding,
Approximate Word count = 1504
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)