SOUTHERN BAPTISTS ADVOCATE YOUNGER MARRIAGES: SAY WHAT?!

SAY WHAT?!

After completing my five part post about why waiting to get married and/or having children is so important to a healthy and stable marriage, I eagerly joined friends for lunch and scintillating conversation. Knowing that I had posted my article on my blog, one friend directed my attention to an astounding piece of news about young marriages. You have to believe me when I say my mouth literally fell open. Just when I thought the Christian Right couldn’t go any further right on the Liberal - Conservative continuum, I do believe they actually fell off. I kid you not!

“Andrew Walker, director of policy studies for the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, and Jon Akin, senior pastor of Fairview Church in Lebanon, Tennessee, made the argument in a column for the Baptist Press earlier this week.”

"We do not advocate a specific age; rather, we believe that young people should make themselves 'marry-able' younger," wrote Walker and Akin. Are Walker and Akin trying to coin a phrase with marry-able younger? The phrase is awkward on the tongue and the argument even more unpalatable.

I tried to think of ways to paraphrase this next quote, but I could not get my head around it. Walker and Akin state, “It's impractical and unhelpful to advise and encourage young men and women who reach sexual maturity at the age of 12 or 13 to wait 15 years before marriage and still remain pure.”   So, are they giving Southern Baptists’ Teens a mandate to get married at the young age of twelve? 

This is a throwback to the Dark Ages when girls were married off at a ridiculous age.  High maternal and infant death rates significantly lowered the over all life expectancy of that time and continued to do so well into the 19th century. Of course, causes other than the young ages of the mothers also contributed to high maternal and infant mortality: basic hygiene being a big one. But the bottom line is that anyone without adequate resources (financial, access to good health care, daily living skills, education, etc) is at greater risk, and children born into such situations fare far worse than their more fortunate counterparts.

An impressive number of research studies have been conducted on teen marriages. The unquestionable truth is early marriages are detrimental to achieving a healthy and stable family. 

The Best Age at which to Marry: What Are the Problems?

The Best Age at which to Marry

What Are the Problems?

Research has determined specific characteristics of people who marry early. Many scientists predict
there will be catastrophic drawbacks to both the individuals and our society. (Read Wilcox, W.
Bradford and Hamilton.”Why Marriage Matters.” State of Our Unions. 2001).

Obviously there is a need to educate young people about the adverse consequences of early marriage. It has been documented that young women who give birth outside of marriage, and their children  suffer the most. Usually these women, on the average, are younger, have less education, and have lower incomes than those who are married. Children born of unwed or teen  parents are more likely to live in poverty and have more developmental  issues.

 I would suggest reading Academic and Behavioral Outcomes Among Children of Young Mothers by Levine, Pollock, and Comfort to understand the devastating effects young mothers could have on their children’s lives. Subsequently, who would ever deny a child the right to a healthier and more productive life?


I concede that when young people fall deeply and passionately in love and have the maturity to realize that in order for their marriage to succeed, there should be open and honest communication, a willingness to change one’s ideas, or at the very least, the ability to compromise.

Be that as it may, there are definite advantages for those who wait to get married. Startling evidence and data prove being married at a later age has more positive outcomes on family stability, women’s mental and physical health, and children’s development.

Live simply.

Speak softly.

Love unconditionally.

The Best Age for Marriage: Why Wait to Marry?

The Best Age for Marriage

Why Wait to Marry?

 The trend of marrying at a later age is probably due to financial
instability, which is one of the biggest predictors of divorce.  Kim Painter, reporter for USA Today states, “Young people delay marriage to finish their educations, launch their careers, and try to achieve academic success.” To illustrate, Christine B. Whelan, an assistant sociology professor agrees, “Easily measurable factors like income and job opportunities are only part of the explanation for why college graduates have stronger marriages.” Extensive studies such as those the Pew Research Center provides prove that educated adults tend to look towards the future and raise their families to value education and family commitments. The more educated one becomes, the more self control and satisfaction one develops in life.

Live simply.

Speak softly.

Love unconditionally.

Next: So, what's the problem?