Marriage Essay

Marriage is the social institution under which a couple declares each other as wife and husband through legal commitments and religious ceremonies.

There are many reasons why marriage has endured for so long and many reasons why the importance of marriage is diminishing. Humans are social animals, afraid of loneliness, isolation and are insecure. They have a need to reach out to other people and form a close bond with them so that they can live in a close-knit group. Such a holy ceremony will never have no place in our society but can only become less important to most Singaporeans as our culture westernized and we value freedom more. While marriage is still an important social institution, it no longer enjoys the privileged of a sacred ceremony. Thus, I agree to a large extent that marriage has no place in our society today as its importance is crumbling.

Marriage is currently under threat by a gradual liberalisation of values in Singapore. Singaporeans tend to think that there is no difference between being married and cohabiting, even when raising children. One of the most dramatic social trends is the rapid rise in rates of cohabitation, indicating a significant shift in attitudes towards intimate relationships outside of marriage. This is due to a change in values of Singaporeans. Being exposed to the western culture much more than before, more Singaporeans value liberty and freedom. As the saying goes "Marriage is halved your rights and double your duties", Singaporeans who value freedom more are deterred to married. A survey which checks on the social attitudes of Singaporeans shows that singles, highly educated, younger persons are more likely to have liberal attitude. Singapore being Southeast Asia's education hub and having 91.7% Singaporeans with secondary or higher qualifications thus become a society which shifts towards cohabitation, diminishing the importance of Marriage. This can be seen in Singapore's low marriage rate 0.44% which started to decline from 2003. As such, with a change in values of today Singaporeans, the value of marriage is dropping.