Challenges Before the Institution of Marriage in the Era of Globalisation

Abstract

Globalisation has set off many social changes and has impacted upon the family in many ways posing a threat to the survival of the institution of marriage. This article discusses the many changes that the institution of marriage faces. Just as marriage is much more than just an institution for legitimate sexual relations, "globalization" too is a phenomenon that involves much more than just the economic dealings between the developed and developing nations. Modern cultural values such as expressive and utilitarian individualism cannot sustain marriage without a public theology of covenant and subsidiarity that defines marriage not only as a deeply meaningful personal and spiritual relationship but as a public institution. Today the question is what kind of institutional support does marriage need. Can we do away with the institution of marriage? The 19th-century antidote to the negative impact of the market on family life was the family model of the breadwinning father and domestic and economically dependent mother is no longer tenable. The 19th-century divided spheres, paternal authority, and power hierarchy should be put at rest. A middle position of a complex cultural transformation to support marriage and a solution for the tensions between work and family wrought by the forces of modernization is the need of the hour.