THOUGHTS ON RAUCH ON BLANKENHORN: Eve

I knew if I waited long enough, I wouldn't have to do that registration thing.

Anyway, some very quick thoughts:

1. I agree with much of Rauch's criticism of the cross-country comparisons. In fact, I have lots of other criticisms of that section, and I suspect he does too. It struck me as the weakest part of the book.

2. Rauch doesn't engage at all with Blankenhorn's criticism of third-party reproduction (surrogacy and sperm and egg donation), which as I understand it is fairly important to Blankenhorn's arguments.

3. Given Rauch's emphasis on the multiple functions of marriage, I guess I'll link to this. It's the end of a sometimes-clumsy, sometimes-pretty-good series of posts I did on same-sex marriage; I think this is one of the good parts, and a possibly-helpful parable about, among other things, the difference between a positive function and the core purpose of an institution.

4. Warning: Rauch ends on a cliffhanger....
posted by Eve at 2:14 AM | Link | 4 comments  

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, MOM!: Heather Mac Donald

here
posted by Eve at 2:04 AM | Link | 0 comments  

You can read Jonathan Rauch's review of David Blankenhorn's book

here, without registering.
posted by Eve at 1:20 AM | Link | 0 comments  

New Book: Why Fathers Count

Just in time for Father's Day:

"Two family scholars have studied the role of religion as a motivational influence in the lives of fathers and have written about their research in a chapter for a recently published book. Loren Marks, an assistant professor at LSU, and David Dollahite, a professor of family life at Brigham Young University, contend that religious beliefs and practices play a critical role for many men in their involvement with children, which they say is important in an era when many fathers are disconnected from or uninvolved with their children.

Marks teaches in the LSU School of Human Ecology’s division of Family, Child and Consumer Sciences. His primary research interest is how faith involvement influences family life.

In their chapter for the newly released book, “Why Fathers Count,”
Marks and Dollahite point out that although religion is a common influence in the lives of men worldwide, little empirical research has looked at how it affects fathers and why it is so influential for many men and their families. Since a substantial minority of Americans consider religion “the single most important influence in [life],” the scholars found value in learning “how and why family relationships, especially father-child relationships, are influenced by religion.”

In their study of more than 130 Christian, Jewish, Mormon and Muslim families across the United States, the participants contributed an average of eight percent of their incomes and spent an average of nine hours a week engaged in religious activities and involvement. Pointing to their faith community “family,” the participating fathers emphasized their faith communities helped them to overcome or avoid addictions, enhanced their opportunities and provided guidance for family life, and gave them an important context for brotherhood and belonging.

More information on the book is available at http://www.whyfatherscount.com.
posted by maggie at 1:02 AM | Link | 7 comments  

TWO LINKS ABOUT STEPFATHERS

Adam Bellow honors his stepfather;

Dennis O'Brien gives advice:

Since birthmothers often are awarded primary physical custody of children after divorce, a stepfather has a wonderful opportunity to mold a child's daily habits, friendships, values, sense of responsibility and approach to school and to life.

Here are some suggestions.

more
posted by Eve at 8:07 PM | Link | 0 comments  

HOW FATHERHOOD AFFECTS THE BODY AND BRAIN

from Slate.
posted by Eve at 8:05 PM | Link | 0 comments  

Gallup: 'The Marriage Gap'

From a Gallup analysis (hat tip to Jon Rauch):

"Marriage Gap not Evident in Ratings of all Democratic Candidates
Obama, Edwards rated similarly among married, unmarried Americans

by Jeffrey M. Jones
GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- In each of the last three presidential elections, there have been sharp differences in the voting preferences of married and unmarried voters. , ,

An analysis of favorable ratings for the leading 2008 presidential candidates shows the prevailing marriage gaps evident in ratings of all Republican candidates, with married Americans evaluating them much more positively than unmarried Americans. While New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and former vice president Al Gore exhibit the typical Democratic pattern of being rated much less favorably by those who are currently married than by those who are not, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards are rated similarly by both married and unmarried Americans.

The analysis is based on data from the last four Gallup polls, conducted from mid-April through early June 2007. Each poll included favorable ratings on the leading presidential contenders. The combined data set consists of interviews with more than 4,000 Americans, including just more than 2,200 who are currently married and slightly less than 1,700 who are not married. The group of unmarried Americans includes those who have never been married (comprising 37% of this group), those living with a partner (13%), and those who are divorced (24%), separated (5%), and widowed (21%). . ."

posted by maggie at 6:11 PM | Link | 0 comments  

Double Duty Dads and the War on Fatherlessness

National Fatherhood Initiative's Roland Warren has an idea. . . or at least a metaphor.
posted by maggie at 5:53 PM | Link | 0 comments  

FIRST NATIONAL PROGRAM LAUNCHED TO COMBAT DIVORCE RATES IN AUTISM COMMUNITY: Press release

Today the National Autism Association (NAA) announced the launching of its Family First Program, a comprehensive national marital counseling program to combat divorce rates within the autism community. The new initiative offers couples with autistic children immediate access to marital counseling, and a grant program for those unable to afford it.

more
posted by Eve at 11:20 PM | Link | 0 comments  

Massachusetts Vote

The Massachusetts Constitutional Convention went very quickly. As soon as the legislators were assembled a roll call vote was held and the vote was 151 against 45 in favor. As soon as the vote totals were announced to cheering from legislators and obvious celebration by legislative leadership, the Convention was adjourned.

The amendment needed at least 50 votes to go to voters in 2008. Thus, Massachusetts citizens will not get this chance to weigh in on the Supreme Judicial Court's redefinition of marriage. The Boston Globe's reporting is here.
posted by William Duncan at 1:25 PM | Link | 35 comments  

Broadcast of Massachusetts Special Session

The Massachusetts legislature provides a live video feed of the Constitutional Convention here. The calendar says the marriage amendment is the first item on the agenda.
posted by William Duncan at 1:04 PM | Link | 0 comments  

SSM Update: Tight Vote Looms Today in Massachussetts

June 14 Boston GlobeL "Tight vote looms on same-sex marriage
Lobbying intense on both sides"

Also in Boston Globe: "Patrick, DiMasi, Murray race to block gay marriage ban amendment"

"On both sides, they chat up lawmakers, check lists for Constitutional Convention"

Boston Herald: "Lawmakers must call the question"

M Graham: "Mass. still wedded to controversy: A process annulled"
posted by maggie at 10:19 AM | Link | 1 comments  

"Fundamentalist" Mormons Seek Legal Recognition for Polygamy

I'm not sure why these dissenting Mormon sects are "fundamentalist" since they reject the authortative teachings of their own church but. . .From Reuters:

"Fundamental Mormons Seek Recognition For Polygamy

CENTENNIAL PARK, Arizona (Reuters) - When Ephraim Hammon returns home from a day of working construction near Arizona's border with Utah, he's greeted by his wife SherylLynne. And then by his wife Leah.

Polygamy, once hidden in the shadows of Utah and Arizona, is breaking into the open as fundamentalist Mormons push to decriminalize it on religious grounds, while at the same time stamping out abuses such as forced marriages of underage brides.
The growing confidence of polygamists and their willingness to go public come at an awkward moment for mainstream Mormons, who are now in the spotlight as Republican Mitt Romney, a prominent Mormon, seeks the U.S. presidency.

The Salt Lake City, Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormon church, introduced polygamy before the Civil War but banned it in 1890 when the federal government threatened to deny Utah statehood. Today, about 40,000 "fundamentalist Mormons" in Utah and nearby states live polygamy illegally.
Romney, whose great-grandfather had five wives and whose great-great-grandfather had a dozen, has dismissed the practice as "bizarre" -- a comment that infuriates Hammon, whose father and grand-father practiced plural marriage.

"If it was me, I wouldn't apologize for my past. My ancestors did what they did. I can't help that," said Hammon, 36, who legally married SherylLynne, 32, in 1994 and was joined with Leah, 21, a decade later as his "celestial bride" in a religious ceremony that has no legal binding.

Leah bristles at the idea of women being forced into polygamy. "The women in this society are educated," she said.

Her husband likened the struggle for acceptance with the civil rights movement. "It's like the work Martin Luther King did in relation with African Americans," he said, holding year-old Ava, one of his eight children, in the living room of his three-story home in Centennial Park, a dry, dusty Arizona town run by polygamists near the Utah border. . ."

posted by maggie at 3:28 PM | Link | 15 comments  

SSM Update: Sweden Uproar over SSM

June 11, 2007 365gay.com:

"Swedish PM Faces Revolt Over Gay Marriage

'(Stockholm) The coalition government of Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt is in danger of collapse over the issue of same-sex marriage.

Eight Members of Parliament from Reinfeldt’s own Conservative Moderate Party are threatening to revolt if the party does not officially support gay marriage legislation.

Two of Reinfeldt's coalition partners, the Center and Liberal parties, already have announced their support for the bill. A third party, the Christian Democrats are opposed to same-sex marriage and have indicated they would veto the legislation. Sweden already has civil partnerships under a law enacted in 1995 that gives most of the rights and obligations of marriage to same-sex couples who register. But the country's LGBT community and moderate politicians have stepped up lobbying to have the law amended to permit gays and lesbians to marry.

A parliamentary committee studying the issue last year called civil partnerships outdated and has recommended Parliament allow same-sex marriage. It also would allow gay couples to marry in churches.

So far Reinfeldt’s Conservative Moderates have failed to introduce a gay marriage bill in Parliament and the party has carefully avoided taking a stand. A report issued by the committee last year noted a public opinion poll showed that 46 percent of Swedes are supportive of gay marriage, while 31 percent are opposed. The remainder were undecided.

Reinfeldt has said the party will make a decision on the legislation at its annual convention in the fall.The eight MPs pressuring him to act sooner are said to include at least one cabinet minister."

posted by maggie at 3:25 PM | Link | 5 comments  

Islamic Family Law in Action (Egypt)

A fascinating glimps in the June 12, New York Times:

,"A Compass that Can Clash with Modern Life."

". . . Sheik Abdel Aziz el-Naggar has been offering fatwas for 17 years as an employee of Al Azhar. Like other sheiks, he rotates each month to committees that operate in each of Egypt’s regional governates. Over the years, he said, the vast majority of the visitors have asked for help with their marriages.

“The greatest ill in society I observe is the lack of trust and knowledge between husband and wife,” he said. “A man will think masculinity is being a dictator.”

At 11:30 one recent morning, a young woman entered and sat in the chair opposite him. She held her son, about 4, on her knee as she explained that her husband had married another woman (four wives are allowed in Islam) and that the new wife was only 18. “He said he would spend five nights with her and one with me,” the woman complained. “Can I ask for a divorce?”

Under Islam, the sheik advised, all wives must be treated equally. So if she could not work the matter out “peacefully, then yes, she could ask for a divorce.”

That was her fatwa.

A couple approached. The man’s clothes were tattered, and his wife looked distressed. Their 9-year-old son’s clothing was clean, his hair gelled, his smile bright. The man explained that they had adopted the child when he was 9 months old, and that they had just heard that under Islam their son had to be put out of the house, because the mother had not given birth to him or breast-fed him.

He would reach puberty as an outsider, and could not, technically, be around the woman he knew as his mother. The imam at their local mosque said it was haram — forbidden under Islam — to live with the boy.

The sheik said yes, that was right, that the boy could not live with them. The father leaned in, disturbed, and said, “And that’s it.”

The sheik seemed stuck and referred them to another sheik for another opinion.

That was their fatwa. . ."

posted by maggie at 3:21 PM | Link | 0 comments  

Boston: Catholic Marriages Plummet

A story in the June 10 Boston Herald. I can't tell from this brief story whether and to what degree this reflects 1) a drop in Catholics in Boston; 2) a drop in young people of marrying ages in the Boston dioceses (i.e. Massachusetts may be aging); 3) a drop in the likelihood that Catholics marry 'in the Church' as opposed to in other faiths or civilly and/or 4) a drop in the likelihood that Catholics of a given age are marrying at all. If anyone has a copy of the Church document referenced, I'd love to see it:

"Catholic marriages declining rapidly

Catholic marriages in Boston plummeted 61 percent in the past 20 years, going from 12,314 in 1984 to 4,820 just two years ago, according to a church document circulated by a member of an important archdiocese planning group.

The document says the church’s marriage rate is dropping more than the national average. Terrence C. Donilon, an archdiocesean spokesman, said the church has launched a long-term effort to revitalize parish life and increase Mass attendance, marriages and baptisms. “The glass is more than half-full,” said Donilon.

The document, which Donilon called “unofficial,” points out that evangelical Christians and Mormons have success in committing teens to their faith, while evangelization is a “low institutional priority” for the Catholic Church. “There is a disconnect between what youth believe about God, themselves, their lives and their behavior,” the document said."

posted by maggie at 9:50 AM | Link | 3 comments  

U.K. Plans to Treat Cohabiting Couples As Married for Divorce Purposes

The headline describes it as "equal rights" for cohabitors but what it really is, is a massive expansion of the power of the government to regulate personal relationships, without the consent of the couple. From the June 11 Times:

"Unmarried couples get equal rights on 'divorce'

Cohabiting partners who split up are to get similar rights to divorcing couples under plans to be outlined next month, The Times has learnt.

Unmarried women and men will be able to make claims against their partners to demand lump-sum payments, a share of property, regular maintenance or a share of the partner's pension when they separate. They will also be able to claim against their partners for loss of earnings if they gave up a career to look after children.

The reforms are to be published by the Law Commission, the Government's law reform body.It is expected to drop any proposal for a time stipulation, so that only couples who had lived together for, say, two years, could bring a claim; or any bar on childless couples. . ."

posted by maggie at 6:04 AM | Link | 1 comments  

Rauch on Blankenhorn's The Future of Marriage

As I read, I made note of points on which he and I agree. I soon found myself running out of paper. Marriage, we both believe, is a vital institution, not just equal to competing family arrangements from society’s point of view but preferable; it is an institution embedded in society, not a mere contract between individuals; it is social, not just legal, and so cannot be twisted like a pretzel by court order; it has (almost) everywhere and always been heterosexual and entwined with procreation, and should be. Gay marriage, we both believe, is a significant change that entails risk (though we assess the risks very differently); but gay marriage, we also believe, is a supporting character in the much larger drama of shifting social values. We agree that heterosexuals, not homosexuals, will determine marriage’s fate and have handled matrimony pretty poorly without any gay help. And we agree that children, on average (please note the qualifier), do best when raised by their biological mother and father, though he makes more sweeping claims on that score than I would.

That is a great deal of common ground, which makes it all the more interesting that we come out in utterly different places and that gay marriage, in some ways, turns out to be the least of our disagreements.

At democracyjournal.org; full review here (may require free registration).
posted by Jon at 5:58 PM | Link | 70 comments  

ANOTHER "LARGE FAMILY TREATED LIKE FREAKS" STORY: Kristin Knight

(she's only got five kids! ...not sure what "stair-step children" means.)
posted by Eve at 4:22 PM | Link | 2 comments  

Ireland: "Procreation Vacations"

A new niche market according to the Post.ie.
posted by maggie at 4:18 PM | Link | 0 comments  

SSM Update: Massachussetts Gov. Seeks to Delay Vote

June 7, Associated Press:

"Gov. Deval Patrick said he'll ask lawmakers to postpone next week's scheduled vote on a proposed constitutional amendment barring gay marriage if he doesn't think there are enough votes to kill the measure.

We want a vote that goes the right way, that keeps us off the ballot," Patrick said Thursday after attending an evening fundraiser for MassEquality, an advocacy group that opposes the amendment. "If we need more time, we'll ask for more time." . . ."

posted by maggie at 10:45 AM | Link | 11 comments