Many years ago there was only one type of marriage. It was the traditional husband and wife marriage, which began with a wedding and ended with happily ever after (or so we thought).
We now know that all marriages and couples are not designed this way. There are many different people in this world and many different types of relationships. Therefore, there are also different types of marriages.
In my next couple of articles I will explore some traditional and some nontraditional couples and their marriages.
For some couples marriage simply just is not enough. They want a commitment even stronger than the bond of a traditional marriage. They want a bond that cannot be easily broken as seen by many couples today.
For these committed couples, there is a covenant marriage. There are only three states that offer a legal covenant marriage. To enter into one of these marriages, a couple must be serious about their relationship and their marriage.
Covenant marriages typically require counseling before marriage. They are harder to get out of and have stricter laws for divorce than a traditional marriage.
Couples who wish to end a covenant marriage must undergo counseling and limited conditions must exist. In a covenant marriage divorce on terms such as irreconcilable differences would not be allowed. Only terms such as adultery or abuse are usually reasons to end a covenant marriage.
In some covenant marriages, couples are asked to sign a statement vowing to live together as husband and wife until death does them part. The couple takes the option of divorce out of their marriage when it begins. Therefore it is not given a thought during hard and stressful times. The couple is more willing to work through their issues because they know they cannot get out of the bond they created.
Covenant Marriages in the News