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The Debate Between Arranged and Love Marriages

Arranged marriages have been adopted by many communities that show a strikingly low rate of divorce, and this has prompted social observers to wonder whether this form of nuptial contract is naturally more suited towards granting a longer married life than a match born out of love.

The problem is this question has almost always invited over-simplified formulae and sweepingly general answers. The other problem of working in this area is the lack of reliable statistics. The number of successful arranged marriages in the UK is almost impossible to calculate as the idea of well-being itself is highly subjective in the cultural context. Before arriving at easy conclusions, it is, therefore, prudent to look deeper into the matter.

What is Arranged Marriage?

How do we define an arranged marriage? It is essentially a match proposed by two families that have decided to come together through a match arranged between two of its members. This is what the traditional meaning of arranged marriage was. It must be pointed out here that arranged marriage is not the same as forced marriage, with which it is frequently confused. The involvement of the family was the most important factor till recently, and in most contexts, it still is. But now, arranged marriages come in many flavours, and in some cases, it is impossible to draw the line between them and love marriages.

As hinted above, arranged matches are strongly dependent on community. Therefore, it is better to proceed according to cultures if we are to look at the pros and cons of both types of marriages. There are no hard and fast rules that those who opt for or are socially conditioned into choosing an arranged marriage are better individuals, nor is there any need to assume that love marriage indicates a less orthodox mindset. Human beings cannot be averaged, and the same may be said of the complications they are capable of creating.

South East Asians and Marital Structures

Marriage has always been considered a very serious affair in the Far East and family has played a big role in it. In the context of China and Japan, the issues were very different for either country. Japanese people rarely immigrate so their representation in the UK is almost nil. China, Singapore, Bangkok and Thailand have minority presence here and divorce is not really encouraged by their culture. So the lower rate of divorce has more to do with social conditioning than arranged marriage.

Indians and the New Combinations

Roughly the same rule may be applied to Indian immigrants. Hinduism does not say anything about divorce but do not condone it, while Sikhs do not favour it either. The Indian community, however, is undergoing drastic makeovers in the area of marriage and occupations now, and an increasing number of Indians are opting for international love marriages. Divorce rates are also hiking as well as the number of live-in relations.

Africans and Caribbean and Arranged Live-Ins

Africans have evolved a more interesting take-off that combines the best of both worlds, so to say. The couple who are to be married live together for some time to get used to each other before tying the knot, and this is not considered to be bad since they are to be married anyway.

Internet Dating: Another Name for Arranged Marriage

Moving out of the communal paradigms, arranged marriages are becoming relevant in general as well, though in a very different guise. Dating on the internet has so many security measures and customization details built into it that it has become almost akin to arranged marriages. Besides, some communities, such as the Indians and South Asians, are moving towards a combination of arranged and love marriages. The internet match fixing has familial support, but beyond that, the couple concerned try to carry the relation forward into a full-blown affair before marriage.

Conclusion

The main problem is that there are no fixed conclusions that can be arrived at in such cases. However, in all prudence, it seems that three factors can be agreed upon.