The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1901-08-16
Marriage and the Church.

Inc tuRgertlOn Oh one W oui WI
respondents that the bitter complaint
by a Maryland priest that marriages
are 80 few in his parish merely expresses
evaporation nj the paucity OF his we'd
ding fees might be set aside n an i'm
putation Of the scoffer merely, were not
the writer himself also a priest Of the
Roman Catholic Church. And. more
over, IL is a reasonable suggestion. A
diminution in the number Of marriages
in a minister's flock means TO him n loss
Of pcrauisitcs which serve TO exc out a
narrow income-and possibly Of more
TO come at baptisms.
This could be said without any undue
reflection on the profession Of divinity,
e~vonlif we did not have such ministerial
authority, for IL. Priests and ministers
share the weaknesses Of human nature
along with the rest Of mankind. and
chance additions to an income in the
way OF little fees or perquisites right
fully obtained are peculiarly agreeable
to men generally. The director OF a
company may be rich enough TO lead
people to suppose that he would dcspise
the gold eagle or half-eagle which custom
gives him for attending a meeting OF
the corporation. but actually. WI know.
he takes IL always as II the money was
a veritable godsend. The 4" guinea pig"
as the English call him, sometimes picks
up a nice little sun In a year by getting
into the direction OF many companies.
and the income il an inducement which
makes IL easy to get men OF imposing
titles. in England 80 valuable even ~
financial bell vethers, TO serve in such
a capacity,
II IL not remarkable. therefore. that.
consciously or unconsciously, consid-
erations having to do with wedding
fees should affect the judgment even
of clergymen when they look at the
question Of marriage. Moreover, n Of
the chief sources Of the strength Of the
Church in its hold on society comes
from the command 1t exercises at the
grea, periods and over the great events
of family life. IL solemnizcs the mar
rage: il steps in at birth with It's baptism;
IL Is invoked TO consign the dead TO the
grave. tven where there Is no religious
belief, mere social convention usually
compels the interpretation Of the Church
al marriages. though. Of course. il In
legally unnecessary: and the same con-
v~ention also frequently induces the
baptism Of children Of parents who have
no respect for the ordinance otherwise.
The instances where even well-known
.-GA.l. A,,KtAl ,rtsIA..t raft ,.a,,a
services are few, relatively. in this coun-
try. Religious faith has declined omi-
nously during this last generation.
but the Church still prcsides. rs Of old,
at marriages, baptisms and deaths;
more especially, at marriages and
funerals. II still dominates those oerc-
monies and retains a powerful hold on
society by thus compelling fashion To
! render submission to IL.
As 10 the main question raised bv the
Maryland priest, Of the evil social in
dication OF n disposition TO refrain from
matrimony or 60 delay it from priden-
tial reasons, there il much TO be said on
both sides. Undoubtedly. rs society
becomes more complex and civilization
| creates new necessities there results a
tendency TO more caution in assuming
| the burdens and the responsibilities Of
marriage. and it is strongest among the
intelligent. They become more prudent
about mating: they count the COS; to
see II they can reasonably undertake
10 support a family or II the qualification
Of an impulse TO ma,rimony might not
act rs a handicap in their careers. They
wait for greater assurance prIdeniially.
consequently the disposition 10 put m
marriage beyond the period 81 the flush
Of youth begins 10 be noticeable In a
large circle ~ society. The average
age of mating has increased. moro e~J--
cially among people of the higher do
grcea q. intelligence and Those who
hsvr no, vet conquered fortune. Coin
cidcntlv. too. complaint - made. both
here and In England. tina; the families
Of the married are smaiicr.
Tho Introduction Of Young women
NJ competitors with men In industry.
ou tho present groai soale. Al-o "oo-
tributes 10 the diminu,ion of msir,mopy.
NV providing supgou for wous-n In
dep-nd-ni IL marriage and hv l~~scn-
ing tho opportunities Tor employment,
or tke wagr- q tho composing m~n.
az ,his disadyAn,acr .%pmpaaini has
hen made nv some 80 osF mcn oouc-
sTopd-nis TIC, cry . a. that ~oB~n
have lo~~f~i tho siandard - TSy Cor
I th~pa ~ iheir willingness ~ ~urt fuF
I th- Jann SAG ~ can shUnd q" take
i-cat.- ii~v iase n"pe def-naert 80
'l.-m iot sulg-,rt, and ihe trths tl'"r s.
mrrr tssys pa surh0s- ivf ts~iF p~~i. ~
! tams. ~htfh Az ffssrd-d ~ ., larg-
q fau - th-n ~ nTsgsis
a. ths mas ~ I'D vriin li'una.
firis. lmf ths lusiituiaan e wHfrtm"l'
I'D n"srssi.-- srd Isss~a. asd niisisi~ls
wrt u~s.psiarralSs ReuAs "an alssss
r-ss go = Vrss tsssis sssruEs,s ~ 49,
! sa.l@ IN Ne ~sy 81 nssrFt~ss &c..