The Thompsons, however, didn't just renew their vows. They rewrote them, based on the state's new, tough-minded marriage law. On the front end, it requires premarital counseling. On the back end, it limits the legal grounds for divorce to adultery, felony conviction, abandonment, physical or sexual abuse, or separation of at least two years. It also requires that struggling couples get counseling before they may call it quits.
Skeptics point out that so far only a small number of newlyweds have chosen the covenant option.
Others complain that it still offers couples a generous escape clause. The public discussion that covenant marriage already has provoked is a very healthy sign. Private discussions are important as well. Hundreds of congregations throughout the state have called Perkins's office to request information on the law. Leaders of entire denominations, from the Catholic Church to the Assemblies of God, are considering whether to endorse the idea.