Conditions of a Good Marriage Secular and Religious Views
One might ask themselves what the conditions of a good marriage are. The answer to this question depends on whether the person is looking at it from a secular or religious perspective. Those looking at it from the secular view would say that a good marriage is made up of love, trust, honesty, understanding, etc. but from the religious perspective there is an added element. ... But it can be said that both the religious and secular views have something in common when it comes to the conditions of a good marriage: they believe that marriage is a commitment between two individuals in an intimate relationship who promise to care for each others human needs. In Jerome Nathanson’s essay, “The Ethics of Marriage”, which outlines the conditions of a good marriage in a secular context, he names three needs that marriage fulfills: security, understanding, and genuine concern for your partner. ... It also involves good communication between the couple because without communication there can be no understanding. ... Finally, a good marriage must be characterized by a feeling that each person is genuinely concerned with what happens to the other. ... Marriage then is viewed as a maturing experience since it takes maturity to truly love someone. ... It is exactly for this reason that a good marriage is a relationship through which one can grow until the end of his days. Finally, a good marriage should be the source of a couple making an increased contribution to the life of the larger community. The security, the understanding, and the affection, too, which characterize a good marriage relation, should be brought to bear in the larger areas of life (Nathanson 152). ... This secular view of marriage can be compared to a Protestant view and the similarities are very evident.