Why Does the Definition of Marriage Matter?

            Families, communities, and nations are stronger when the definitions of words are established and honored. Leftists change the meaning of words to work their agenda. Definitions of words changed recently include secure, recession, woman, marriage, and family.

·         The Biden administration insist that the southern border is “secure” even though 3 million or more people have entered the United States in the past 18 months.

·         The Biden administration put the United States into a “recession” according to numerous economic experts, but the administration refuses to call it a recession.

·         Then nominee for the Supreme Court Ketanji Brown Jackson was asked for the definition of “woman,” and she declared herself incapable of defining a woman because she is “not a biologist.”

·         “Family” has been defined as any group of people ranging from the traditional family to a group of unrelated people living in the same house.

·         “Marriage” was once defined as a union between one man and one woman. Now, it includes a union between two men or a union between two women. It is possible that the definition will expand to include other configurations in the future.

This essay will discuss the importance of traditional marriage in prospering societies. Ryan T. Anderson is an expert on why traditional marriage matters in public policy. In his book titled Truth Overruled – The Future of Marriage and Religious Freedom, Anderson wrote, “Marriage is society’s least restrictive means of ensuring the well-being of children.” He continued by stating that governments recognize marriage because it “protects children by encouraging men and women to commit themselves to each other an to take responsibility for their children.”

As strong as the government’s interest is in the marriages of its citizens, however, it is important to remember that the government does not create marriage, it recognizes marriage. Marriage is a natural institution that predates government. Society as a whole, not merely any given set of spouses, benefits from marriage. This is because marriage helps to channel procreative love into a stable institution that provides for the orderly bearing and rearing of the next generation (2015, pp. 24-26).

            Marriage between a man and a woman makes a complementary union that is essential for raising children. Anderson explained that there is “no such thing as ‘parenting.’” However, “There is mothering, and there is fathering, and children do best with both” (2015, p. 26). Anderson quoted other well-known experts on marriage and family.

In a summary of the “best psychological, sociological, and biological research to date,” W. Bradford Wilcox, a sociologist at the University of Virginia, finds that “men and women bring different gifts to the parenting enterprise, that children benefit from having parents with distinct parenting styles, and that family breakdown poses a serious threat to children and to the societies in which they live.” Wilcox finds that “most fathers and mothers possess sex-specific talents related to parenting, and societies should organize parenting and work roles to take advantage of the way in which these talents tend to be distributed in sex-specific ways.” These differences are not the result of gender roles or sex stereotypes. They are a matter of what comes naturally to moms and dads, what moms and dads enjoy doing with their children.

Dads play important roles in the formation of both their sons and their daughters. As the sociologist David Popenoe of Rutgers University explains, “The burden of social science evidence supports the idea that gender-differentiated parenting is important for human development and that the contribution of fathers to childrearing is unique and irreplaceable.” Popenoe concludes: We should disavow the notion that “mommies can make good daddies,” just as we should disavow the popular notion … that “daddies can make good mommies.” … The two sexes are different to the core, and each is necessary – culturally and biologically – for the optimal development of a human being.

            Anderson did not leave us wondering about the distinctive gifts of mothers and fathers. He quoted Wilcox as saying that there are “many distinctive talents” that mothers bring to mothering, but three of them standout: “their capacity to breastfeed, their ability to understand infants and children, and their ability to offer nurture and comfort to their children.” He also quoted Wilcox as describing some distinctive gifts of fathers: fathers “excel when it comes to discipline, play, and challenging their children to embrace life’s challenges” (2015, p. 27).

            Studies show, and experts teach, that children of both sexes benefit from having the attention of both a mother and a father. Anderson explained that when father engage in “rough and tumble play” with their boys, they are teaching them that it is “all right to put people in headlocks but not to bite, pull hair, or gouge eyes.” He continued, “Fathers help their boys channel their distinctively masculine tendencies into productive activities” (2015, pp. 27-28).

            Anderson explained that “the link between crime and fatherlessness if very clear” for boys. “Studies of crime indicate that one of the strongest predictors of crime is fatherless families” (2015, p. 28). Just as fathers matter for boys, they also matter for girls according to Anderson. “Consequently, girls who grow up in intact families are much less likely to experience puberty at an early age, to be sexually active before marriage, and to get pregnant before marriage. Indeed, the longer fathers stick around, the less likely girls are to be sexually active prior to marriage” (2015, p. 29).

Social science confirms the importance of marriage for children. According to the best available sociological evidence, children fare best according to virtually every indicator examined when reared by their wedded biological parents. Studies that control for other factors, including poverty and even genetics, suggest that children reared in intact homes do best in measurements of educational achievement, emotional health, familial and sexual development, and delinquency and incarceration (2015, p. 30).

            The definition of marriage matters because traditional marriage is the best “laboratory” for rearing children. Society benefits from traditional marriage because mothers and fathers use “distinctive talents” in their mothering and fathering tasks. Children who are reared in households with their biological mother and father are less likely to commit crimes and engage in premarital sex. Adults who marry and stay married – one man and one woman – can strengthen their family, community, and nation.