"COMMUNITY MARRIAGE POLICIES" IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA

Family lawyers will be interested to know that there is a movement afoot in the Commonwealth to reduce divorce by making it harder to get married, by means of non-governmental but potentially effective "Community Marriage Policies." These are pacts, signed by all the clergy of all denominations in a wide geographical area, agreeing to require couples who want a church wedding to go through a minimum of four sessions of premarital evaluation, "inventory," counseling and training. This process is so rigorous and probing that in some cities that have the policies, 20% of the couples involved decide not to marry, but those who do marry have a divorce rate that is far below average. The process includes non-therapeutic training in how to deal with inevitable arguments and conflicts. The Policies also encourage churches to provide support and mentor couples for existing marriages. Lay celebrants and marrying judges usually do not participate in the policies, but in some states they have recently started to do so.

A drive to draft a Community Marriage Policy for the entire greater Washington, D.C. area was launched at a mass meeting of clergy in Arlington on May 15. Woodbridge, a growing suburban area in Prince William County, reportedly already has a Community Marriage Policy, as do Richmond, Newport News, Culpeper, and over 100 cities of various sizes around the country.

For more information contact the Marriage Savers Institute, 9500 Michael's Court, Bethesda, Md. 20817, 301-469-5870; or visit http://www.marriagesavers.org