James Wilson noted that, “Scholars increasingly regard cohabitation as a substitute to being single, not an alternative to marriage.”
So what is it that makes marriage so much different than living together with the person you love?
Science has shown that married couples have a consistently higher level of happiness than couples who are cohabiting.
This is likely because expectations are the same for a marriage-portrait.jpg husband and wife since there is a mutual commitment to each other for the future.
As some scholars say, cohabitation is the oxymoron of an “ambiguous commitment.”
When a man and woman live together before marriage, it is simply togetherness rather than commitment.
Marriage provides a foundational commitment that will bind the couple together in many beneficial ways for years to come.
Stanton, Glenn T.. “How Cohabitating Relationships Differ From Marriage.” The ring makes all the difference: the hidden consequences of cohabitation– and the strong benefits of marriage. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2011. Print.
[3 June 2014, abstinence.net, http://www.abstinence.net/our-blog/abstinence-posts/commitment-vs-togetherness/ ]