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Marriage: What’s Love Got to Do with It? Historically, Very Little

posted on February 14, 2014

In honor of Valentine’s Day, Religion News Service explores the history behind the link between love and matrimony. Stephanie Coontz, who teaches history and family studies at Evergreen State College, said, “Through most of human history, love was not at all the point of marriage. Marriage was about getting families together, which was why there were so many controls … Too much love was thought to be a real threat to the institution of marriage.” She notes that the shift marriages primarily based on love occurred during the Enlightenment era, where thinkers wanted to promote the “right to personal happiness. We convinced ourselves that was the traditional ideal.”

Read at Religion News Service