Defending Marriage, and Why It Matters

Defending Marriage, and Why It Matters | Jim Graves | Catholic World Report



An interview with Ryan T. Anderson, co-author of What Is Marriage? Man and Woman: A Defense

Ryan T. Anderson,
31, researches and writes about marriage and religious liberty as the William
E. Simon Fellow in Religion and a Free Society at the Heritage Foundation in
Washington, DC.  He is also the editor of Public Discourse, the online journal of
the Witherspoon Institute in Princeton, NJ.

Ryan T. Anderson

He has emerged as a
leading defender of traditional marriage before audiences on college and law
school campuses, as well as in the mainstream media (he recently sparred with CNN host Piers
Morgan and lesbian financial advisor and motivational speaker Suze Orman, for
example).

Anderson was born
and raised in Baltimore, and, while he is Catholic, his parents sent him and
his four brothers to a Quaker school, “for reasons we still don’t fully
understand,” he chuckles.  At an early age he found his views often at
odds with those of his classmates, such as on the issue of abortion.  He
said, “Being in a minority status makes you examine your positions more thoroughly.”

Anderson’s articles
have appeared in numerous periodicals, and he recently co-authored What Is Marriage? Man and Woman: A Defense (Encounter
Books) with Robert George and Sherif Girgis. He recently spoke with CWR.

CWR: Why is marriage unique from other adult
relationships?

Anderson: As we argue in our book, it is unique
because it involves a union of hearts, minds, and bodies of a man and a woman,
at all levels of their beings, in an act that has the potential to produce new
human life.  Marital relationships are not only emotional, but are ordered
towards bearing and rearing children.  

If we reject the
understanding that marriage should be between one man and one woman, other
questions arise. Why, for example, should we limit marriage to two people?
 What about “thruples” [a three-person “couple”]?  What’s so magical
about the number two?  Perhaps someone believes their marriage would be
enhanced with the introduction of a third party.  If we don’t insist that
marriage is a distinct, bodily union between one man and one woman, then we
leave it up to the spouses to decide.

Also, why should
marriage be permanent?  Emotions come and go, so some people might prefer
their marriage to be temporary.

CWR: Polls say younger people are more open to
same-sex marriage than the overall population. Why do you think many in your
generation have this perspective?

Continue reading on the CWR site.