Free Republic

Economist Marina Adshade is the author of The Love Market: What You Need To Know About How We Date, Mate And Marry. She teaches at the University of British Columbia’s Vancouver School of Economics. Jezebel, the women-focused website with a penchant for feminism and cute animals, recently declared the beginning of a new era with the eye-catching headline: “New Trend: Men Wanting Babies, Women Wanting Freedom”. The article, and a similar one in New York Magazine, proclaims an end to supposedly long-standing paradigm in which maternally driven women have been forcing men into reluctant fatherhood. Men, apparently, are now the...

<p>In what some (the author) likely consider a groundbreaking assertion, University of Texas sociology professor Mark Regnerus is warning women that no one buys the cow when it gives the milk away for free.</p> <p>“Girls are easier to mislead than guys just by lying or just not really caring. If you know what girls want, then you know you should not give that to them until the proper time. If you do that strategically, then you can really have anything you want…whether it’s a relationship, sex, or whatever. You have the control.”</p>

Margaret Wente, one of the country’s best columnists, has written an interesting piece on the changing roles of men and women. It’s all about the fact that women are increasingly more successful — better educated, more ambitious, more focused – than men. “Women are flourishing in this new world, but many men aren’t. Men have always defined themselves as providers — it’s the main source of their identity. What happens when they aren’t needed as providers any more? What happens when their sense of purpose is lost? The answer is, they become unmoored. They stop being adults” She quotes from...

How Does Idealism Negatively Affect Marriage? Msgr. Charles Pope • September 25, 2017 • Those who seek to strengthen Holy Matrimony and stem the tide of failed marriages propose many remedies, among them better catechesis, improved marriage preparation, and greater emphasis on the sacrament in sermons. All of these are fine ideas and necessary steps, but let’s also ponder a deep but often unexplored root of the trouble with marriage today: idealism or unrealistic expectations.Although we live in cynical times, many people still hold a highly idealistic view of marriage: that it should be romantic, joyful, loving, and happy...

A group of clergy and lay scholars from around the world have taken the very rare step of presenting Pope Francis with a formal filial correction, accusing him of propagating heresies concerning marriage, the moral life, and reception of the sacraments. Entitled Correctio filialis de haeresibus propagatis, meaning ‘A Filial Correction Concerning the Propagation of Heresies,’ the 25 page letter was delivered to the Holy Father at his Santa Marta residence on Aug. 11.

One of the more interesting facts in Esther Perel’s new book, State of Affairs: Rethinking Infidelity, comes near the beginning. Since 1990, notes the psychoanalyst and writer, the rate of married women who report they’ve been unfaithful has increased by 40 percent, while the rate among men has remained the same. More women than ever are cheating, she tells us, or are willing to admit that they are cheating — and while Perel spends much of her book examining the psychological meaning, motivation, and impact of these affairs, she offers little insight into the significance of the rise itself. So...

For years the number of stay-at-home dads has been rising, as more men take on responsibility for looking after the home and family.  But now the trend appears to be reversing, with the number falling sharply to a three-year low - and experts say the novelty of being a "new man" could be wearing off. 

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish member of Israel's parliament has resigned after prominent rabbis criticised him for attending his gay nephew's wedding. Yigal Guetta revealed in a radio interview on Sunday that he had gone to the ceremony two years ago. He said that although same-sex marriage was against his religious beliefs he had wanted to make his nephew happy. But five rabbis accused Mr Guetta of desecrating God's name and demanded that the religious Shas party fire him. Same-sex weddings held in Israel are not sanctioned by the state. However, couples who wed abroad can register officially as married couples. In...

Gay rights activist Edith Windsor, whose same-sex marriage fight led to a landmark US ruling, has died aged 88. Her death was confirmed to the New York Times by her wife Judith Kasen-Windsor. Ms Windsor's Supreme Court case struck down the Defense of Marriage Act in 2013, granting same-sex married couples federal recognition for the first time. She had sued the US government after being ordered to pay $363,053 (£224,940) in federal estate tax after her previous wife died. The couple had been partners for 44 years and had married in Canada in 2007. Ms Windsor argued that the provision...

Australian political leaders, including Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, have come out in support of a campaign for same-sex marriage. More than 20,000 people gathered in Sydney to campaign ahead of a non-binding postal vote on changing Australia's marriage act. Mr Turnbull made a surprise appearance and speech at the launch of the New South Wales Yes campaign. Opposition leader Bill Shorten then addressed the crowd at the main rally. The non-binding vote to gauge support for changing Australia's Marriage Act will be sent out from 12 September, with a result expected in November. The survey will not have the power...

Pope Francis has reiterated his belief that marriage can only be defined as a union of one man and one woman, explaining that “we cannot change it.”In a series of interviews with French sociologist Dominique Wolton that was published Wednesday in a book whose title translates to “Politics and Society,” the pontiff reaffirmed Church teaching on marriage.“We cannot change it. This is the nature of things,” explained Francis regarding the traditional biblical definition for marriage, adding that gay marriage should be “civil unions.”Francis also maintained the Church’s teaching on abortion, referring to the procedure as “murder of an innocent person.”...

Four years ago, amid much uncertainty, 400 British members of parliament voted to redefine marriage in the United Kingdom. Then prime minister David Cameron announced that, despite having made no mention of the issue in his party’s pre-election manifesto, it would be MP’s who decided the fate of marriage. Now, it’s Australia’s turn to choose. There’s one key difference. Unlike in Britain, it will be the people who decide. Everyone agrees, whether they admit it or not. This is a decision of enormous significance. Therefore, it seems sensible to analyse the consequences of the potential change, within nations in which...

Mid-February is the most frigid time of year, so it’s always seemed apt that that this is when they choose to hold the highest holy day of the cult of coupledom. If you’re reading this, there’s a not insignificant chance that you are one or several of the following: a) young b) female c) single or d) nauseated by the sheer volume of saccharine romantic propaganda sloshing around the public sphere at this particular time of year. But none of us live outside culture, and feeling frustrated on Valentine’s Day doesn’t make you stupid or duped or a mindless drone...

The challenges and potential business opportunities China's nearly 200 million "single population" has given rise to have been making headlines for some time now. Single population refers to the group of people who are not married despite reaching the legal marriageable age, and those that are divorced or widowed. According to China's population and employment statistical yearbook 2015, the total single population aged above 20－people who are unable to get married as well as those that choose to remain single－was about 140 million in 2014. According to a survey in 2015 more than 58 million people in China live alone...

Florida police rescued an Indian woman Saturday who was beaten by her husband and his parents who traveled from India to help assist him with the assault. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said Silky Gaind, 33, called her parents in India to tell them of the abuse. They then called the authorities. Police said Gaind was being held in the Riverview home by her husband Devbir Kalsi, 33, and his parents Jasbir, 67, and Bhupinder Kalsi, 61, who traveled from India to help their son “counsel and discipline his wife for being disobedient” after he asked for their assistance, according...

Thanks to cheap sex, marriage may be doomed. The share of Americans ages 25-34 who are married dropped 13 percentage points from 2000 to 2014. A new book by sociologist Mark Regnerus blames this declining rate on how easy it is for men to get off. Regnerus calls it “cheap sex,” an economic term meant to describe sex that has very little cost in terms of time or emotional investment, giving it little value. Regnerus bases his ideas, in part, on the work of British social theorist Anthony Giddens, who argued that the pill isolated sex from marriage and children....

A high-profile Vatican adviser responded to a recent Evangelical statement affirming marriage between “one man and one woman” with his own statement affirming "LGBT people."   Rev. James Martin, a Catholic priest, author, and adviser to the Vatican on communications, tweeted a seven-point list of pro-homosexual affirmations in response to the Evangelical’s “Nashville Statement” that defended marriage between a man and woman. Martin’s series of tweets were picked up by The Washington Post and published as a “counter-list” in an August 30 article titled “Seven simple ways to respond to the Nashville Statement on sexuality.” In his list affirming “LGBT people,”...

Leaders from two prominent Jesuit schools in Australia have tacitly endorsed gay “marriage” before the country’s vote on the issue in communications to parents, staff and students. Leadership for St. Ignatius College in Sydney and Xavier College in Melbourne used Pope Francis' emphasis on love as the “primary Gospel value” and the primacy of individual conscience to give a positive portrayal of homosexual relationships. Their statements also directly defied Catholic teaching and recent statements by Australian prelates about upholding Catholic identity in Church institutions. The Jesuit schools are alma maters for generations of Australian politicians, The Sydney Morning Herald reported....

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on a statement issued by evangelical leaders August 29: The Catholic League has a long history of mutual cooperation with evangelical Christians on a host of cultural issues. In that spirit, we condemn the unfair attacks against the statement on marriage, family and sexuality that was signed by more than 150 evangelical leaders following their conference in Nashville last week. “Hateful,” “homophobic,” “anti-LGBT” are among the hysterical condemnations of the statement flying around print, broadcast and social media. But the statement is none of those things. While restating long-held Christian teaching that marriage is...

The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) released The Nashville Statement, signed by evangelicals and pastors throughout the country. The statement affirms that marriage is between one man and one woman and that the approval of same-sex relationships is sinful. The message comes at a time when some in the evangelical community have revised their views on human sexuality. “Our true identity, as male and female persons, is given by God. It is not only foolish, but hopeless, to try to make ourselves what God did not create us to be,” the statement reads. Article 10 of the statement...