<p>This your response is very rich and insightful.  Thanks for taking your time to drop this here. I greatly appreciate it</p>

<p>Please,  do you think marriage is all about the wedding and marriage certificate? </p>

<p>Please, I would love to know your definition of marriage. Do you think marriage is the ceremony or certificate that married couples are given?  Also, I just want to add that marriage was not instituted by man, rather it was instituted by the creator of man ( God almighty ) and it was not meant to enslave anyone but to give support,  comfort,  companionship, etc to the man and the woman coming together. </p>

<p>That is the entirely first reasonable take on this topic I read here so far. Thank you for that. It gives me hope that reason is not something buried under a heap of archaic traditions and rules which often make no sense at all! Thank you again :)</p>

<p>The fact that we don't know how to have a good relationship/marriage doesn't mean marriage is not important. Consider the effect it will have on kids of the coming generation.</p>

<p>For me, marriage is more about a life long commitment than it is about love. Love is important but in many relationships it is fickle.</p><p>A life long commitment, that's sincere, true and constantly renewed has staying power through the ups and downs, and can remain even when the love seems like it isn't there.</p><p>Love is an emotion and emotions can change based on circumstances but the goal with marriage is to state that you will remain together regardless of the changes that occur.</p><p>If a person is against marriage I can imagine that they might want to do something else to state their life long commitment, but I don't see a need to invest a new method of stating a life-long commitment when we already have marriage.</p>

<p>If you can't or won't get married, which is itself a symbol of commitment, covenant, and promise, then how can you say, you have committed to your partner?</p><p>com·mit·ment</p><p>/kəˈmitmənt/Submit</p><p>noun</p><p>1.</p><p>the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause, activity, etc.</p><p>"the company's commitment to quality"</p><p>synonyms:	dedication, devotion, allegiance, loyalty, faithfulness, fidelity, bond, adherence, attentiveness</p><p>"her commitment to her students continued undiminished"</p><p>2.</p><p>an engagement or obligation that restricts freedom of action.</p><p>"business commitments"</p><p>synonyms:	responsibility, obligation, duty, tie, charge, liability, burden, pressure; More</p><p>I will agree that you can behave as if you are dedicated, you can come home everyday, not cheat, etc, but you are not committed in the sense of having a restriction upon your freedom. </p><p>To be married is to say 1) I will behave as if I am dedicated to you, AND 2) I agree to restrict my freedom of action, which means in this context that I will not cheat, nor leave you, until death do us part. </p><p>So I strongly disagree that marriage is unnecessary. </p><p>Also, it has always seemed ironic to me that people denounce marriage while still defending the idea of "committment", it seems the same as having a friend you cherish but never telling them so. Because the act of marriage is a public declaration of precisely the thing you say you want to offer "committment" and yet you are not offering. </p><p>Like a person who likes a friend, but never tells him/her so. Might they know you like them? Sure, will they ever know the full extent of your feelings? Probably not...</p>