Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Saving Marriage One Relationship At A Time: Culture, Family, And Social Change In Christian Premarital Counseling, Courtney Ann Irby

Dissertations

Despite concerns about the decline of marriage in the United States, research has consistently revealed that getting married and staying married remain important to Americans. The value attached to marriage, however, is coupled with an ethic of individualism that results in a focus on personal satisfaction and fulfillment in marriage. While this individualized marriage has been established at both the macro level as part of an American marriage culture and at the micro level in the preferences and actions of individuals, less attention has focused on how communities mediate, respond, and react to these beliefs. I draw from a comparative …