Covenant marriage is a legally distinct kind of

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

in three states of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

(

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, and

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

), in which the marrying spouses agree to obtain pre-marital counseling and accept more limited grounds for later seeking

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

(the least strict of which being that the couple lives apart from each other for two years).

became the first state to pass a covenant marriage law in 1997; shortly afterwards,

and

followed suit. Since its inception, very few couples in those states have married under covenant marriage law. As of the 2015 nationwide legalization of same-sex marriage, covenant marriages now can be contracted by either opposite- or same-sex couples.

Procedure

Prior to entering into a covenant marriage, a couple must attend premarital counseling sessions "emphasizing the nature, purposes, and responsibilities of marriage" and must sign a statement declaring "that a covenant marriage is for life." In contrast to

no-fault divorce No-fault divorce is the dissolution of a marriage that does not require a showing of wrongdoing by either party. Laws providing for no-fault divorce allow a family court to grant a divorce in response to a petition by either party of the marria ...

's more lenient requirements for non-covenant marriages, a spouse in a covenant marriage desiring a divorce may first be required to attend marital counseling. A spouse desiring a divorce must also prove that one of the following is true: * The other spouse has committed

adultery Adultery is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal consequences, the concept ...

. * The other spouse has committed a

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "''félonie''") to describe an offense that r ...

. * The other spouse engages in

substance abuse Substance misuse, also known as drug misuse or, in older vernacular, substance abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods that are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder, differing definition ...

. * The other spouse has physically or sexually abused the spouse or a child. * The spouses have been living separately for a minimum amount of time specified by law (one or two years, depending on the law of the state). Couples married without a covenant marriage may also accept the obligations of a covenant marriage at a later date.

Intent and acceptance

According to proponents of covenant marriage, the movement sets out to promote and strengthen marriages, reduce the rate of divorce, decrease the number of children born out of wedlock, discourage

cohabitation Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not legally married live together as a couple. They are often involved in a Romance (love), romantic or Sexual intercourse, sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. ...

, and frame marriage as an honorable and desirable institution. Despite the goals of covenant marriage proponents, in the three states with covenant marriage statutes, only an extremely small minority of newlyweds chose covenant marriage. In Louisiana, between 2000 and 2010, only about 1 percent of marrying couples chose a covenant marriage, with the other 99 percent choosing to marry under standard marriage laws permitting

. In Arizona, estimates of the rate of covenant marriage among new couples range from 0.25 percent to 1 percent. In Arkansas, a similarly very small number of couples choose covenant marriage.

Out of state divorce

A number of legal analyses suggest that states are likely to apply local state divorce law when a resident seeks a divorce, or when both members of a marriage agree to seek a divorce. This potentially renders covenant marriage's divorce restrictions ineffective if one individual establishes residency in a state without a covenant marriage law, or if both individuals go to such a state for an uncontested divorce.

Religious issues

Critics of covenant marriage have described it "as an example of religion harnessing state power" and creating roadblocks to

that "could easily exacerbate" a bad family "situation and harm kids." According to these critics, " iting periods and mandatory classes 'add a new frustration to already frustrated lives and are merely "a form of paternalism – expanding government in pursuit of socially conservative ends." Though covenant marriage law is written neutrally with respect to religion, many view it as state permission for a religious form of marriage, particularly due to its historical background. Katherine Spaht, a founder of the Louisiana Family Forum and a proponent of Louisiana's covenant marriage law, stated that one "less obvious objective" is "inviting religion back 'into the public square to "revitalize and reinvigorate the 'community' known as the church". This can be inferred, she said, from the rule about "who may perform the mandatory premarital counseling", namely, "a minister, priest, rabbi, or other clergyman of a religious sect". Tony Perkins, a sponsor of the Louisiana Covenant Marriage Bill and another founder of the Louisiana Family Forum, described covenant marriage as fostering an environment for "traditional family values" that are "up to the faith community."

Notable covenant marriages

Mike Johnson James Michael Johnson (born January 30, 1972) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 56th speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2023. A member ...

, 56th

Speaker of the United States House of Representatives The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House or House speaker, is the Speaker (politics), presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the United ...

, and his wife Kelly Lary married in 1999 as a covenant marriage.

References