The book What Is Marriage? Man and Woman: A Defense is an important book in the “marriage debate.” This book most likely won’t cause anyone to change sides in the marriage debate, but it offers good information. It helps readers through a thought process of why marriage should be between a man and a woman without religion. This is important because if the sole argument of not allowing homosexual marriage is religiously entwined, it does beg the question of, “Why shouldn’t it be allowed?” Especially, in an America which is increasingly separating church and state. The question extends to, “What other ‘marriages’ should be allowed?”
What Is Marriage? helps show why conjugal (traditional) view of marriage is beneficial within society rather than the revisionist view. The authors discuss topics like: if the State has an interest in regulating some relationships, the unifying aspects of relationships (mind and body), and the harm of eroding the conjugal view of marriage, injustice within some unions, and more. The purpose of this book is to think about marriage outside of our religious beliefs. The book points out many cultures throughout time accepted the conjugal view of marriage for one reason or another even with religions being different in those cultures. The book even discusses what benefits or issues civil unions could have on society. What Is Marriage? asserts the basis for marriage is procreation and that gay marriage would expand the state’s power and violate religious liberty.
This book, printed by Encounter Books, may be a harder read for some. Reading it a second time is beneficial since some earlier chapters reference later ones. This book was published in 2012 so it would be nice if there was an updated version. Overall, it is a good read for those wanting to understand why marriage should remain between a man and a woman. While this book may be a tougher read than others, it shows a logical progression to help the reader understand this complex topic.