Conjugal Union: What Marriage Is and Why It Matters

by Patrick Lee, Robert P. George

This book defends the conjugal view of marriage. Patrick Lee and Robert P. George argue that marriage is a distinctive type of the union of a man and a woman who have committed to sharing their lives on every level of their beings (bodily, emotionally, and spiritually) in the kind of union that would be fulfilled by conceiving and rearing children together. The comprehensive nature of this union, and its intrinsic orientation to procreation as its natural fulfillment, distinguishes marriage from other types of community and provides the basis for the norms of marital exclusivity and permanence. Lee and George detail how the basic moral norms regarding sexual acts follow from the ethical requirement to respect the good of marriage and explain how the law should treat marriage, given its conjugal nature, examining both the same-sex-marriage issue and civil divorce.

Genres: Philosophy, Marriage

151 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 30, 2014

About the author

There is more than one author with this name

Reviews

[Clinton Wilcox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robert P. George and Patrick Lee are first-rate conservative thinkers. Each one has written excellent contributions to the abortion issue (Embryo: A Defense of Human Life and Abortion and Unborn Human Life, respectively). Now they've teamed up to bring a conservative defense of natural marriage called Conjugal Union: What Marriage Is and Why it Matters.

George has already written one book on marriage, with co-authors Ryan T. Anderson and Sherif Girgis called What is Marriage? Man and Woman: A Defense. I think both books are worth owning and reading, although much of the content is very similar. If you were only going to get one, I would suggest getting Conjugal Union. One major difference is that in What is Marriage?, the authors mention in a footnote that they find original Natural Law arguments to be fallacious but don't spend any time telling us why. In this book, there is a chapter devoted to their defense of natural marriage and why they believe original Natural Law arguments (such as those offered by Ed Feser and Alasdair MacIntyre) to be fallacious and lay out their own metaphysical ground for ethics, which leads into what the essential nature of marriage is.

After laying out the metaphysical ground for their view and discussing what marriage is, they respond to criticisms from same-sex "marriage" advocates (the word "marriage" is in quotes because, as George and Lee argue, same-sex "marriage" is really not marriage at all), responding to criticisms of their view (including interlocutors who have responded to their earlier works), and responding to defenses of same-sex "marriage." Their last chapter is spent responding to legal arguments for same-sex "marriage."

This book is a very strong defense of natural marriage, and shows quite powerfully the weakness of defenses of same-sex "marriage." Anyone who wishes to become knowledgeable in the issue needs to read this book, and if they intend to argue their positions, these are arguments that they must engage with.

[Brandon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gay marriage is what God loves too.

[Ben Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lee and George make a solid case for what marriage is (and is not) based on natural law and why it’s vitally important for wellbeing of its participants, their children, and society more generally. Marriage is a conjugal union, that is, an organic union between one man and one woman, biologically and naturally oriented toward the procreation and rearing of children. Through marriage, man and woman are made one physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

By defining what marriage is, Lee and George go on to state definitively what marriage isn’t, namely: there is no such thing as marriage between two people of the same-sex, just as there is no such thing as marriage between more than two people of the opposite-sex. So-called gay marriage is a fiction, just as polygamous marriage is a fiction. Neither have any bases in natural law, nor are either biologically oriented towards the procreation and rearing of children.

We need more books like what Lee and George have produced. Marriage has only gotten weaker as its definition has been changed to (falsely) include people of the same-sex. It’s only a matter of time before polygamous relationships demand formal recognition and codification in law. People who care about the institution of marriage, and who want to see it strengthened, need good arguments to put forward in the public square. Lee and George have given us such arguments. We need to take them seriously.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strong defense of a conjugal definition of marriage: a wholistic bond between a man and a woman, from which childrearing is a natural and fitting development. As a Reformed Protestant, I have questions about whether the natural law basis for this argument (even nuanced as well as Lee and George present it) can stand the acid wash of our current cultural skepticism about all things objective and outside us. But I agree with their argument just the same.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear and concise definition of marriage. Personal notes written on last page.

[Jeana · Rating 4 out of 5]

The premises and arguments in this book are sound and interesting. It's a compelling read.

[Rick Stuckwisch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm giving this four stars because it is a sturdy and helpful contribution to matters of pressing concern to both church and state. It's probably closer to a three or three-and-a-half in some respects, simply because the writing is a bit clunky and cumbersome. The arguments are not as clear and easily grasped as the earlier book to which at least one of these authors have contributed (What Is Marriage? A Defense, by Robert Georget, et al.). There is also a fair amount of overlap and repetition, as compared to that earlier book. Nevertheless, this book broadens the scope of the discussion and delves into some other aspects of the larger topic. It is straightforward in addressing challenging questions with steady arguments and consistent reason. I especially appreciate its conversation of the place that real marriage has within the public realm, in contrast to other sorts of relationship. On these counts, it merits a careful read and thoughtful consideration.