There are two common views of marriage, researcher and author Peter Jon Mitchell says. One is a more traditional or “institutional” view, and the other is the “soulmate” view, with the latter being the predominant one today.
The institutional view is a more “ancient way” of thinking of marriage, where partners “voluntarily constrain themselves” in a permanent union to pursue a shared purpose, he says, adding that this model often results in integration through parenthood, emotional intimacy, and economic cooperation.
“I think it’s that kind of logic that has been perhaps lost, or is emphasized much less, when we think about marriage today,” Mitchell, co-author of the book “I … Do? Why Marriage Still Matters,” said in an interview with The Epoch Times….