Our son, William, celebrated his marriage on Saturday. You would expect me to say that it was wonderful, sunny occasion. I do, and it was. I have been trying to work out why.
The most important factor is something which parents can, fortunately, affect very little. Will was marrying a beautiful, kind and thoughtful woman, whom he loves; and she loves him. This mutuality, rather than any doctrine, is the main thing. Marriage occurs naturally in organised society and is not invented by religion. Religions only annex and defend it. Although my wife and I are believers — and so are Will and Hannah — I do not think religion is essential to the concept of marriage.
It makes a heaven of a difference, however. We are lucky to have a beautiful 14th-century parish church just down the road, and even luckier to have a bishop in the family (John Oliver, ex-Hereford), who also, 34 years ago, married us.
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