ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of some key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of the book. This book endorses the principles laid out by the Witherspoon Institute: Marriage matters in profound ways to a free society, which depends upon citizens to govern their private lives and rear their children responsibly, so as to limit the scope, size, and power of the state. The nation's retreat from marriage has been particularly consequential for our society's most vulnerable communities; minorities and the poor pay a disproportionately heavy price when marriage declines in their communities. The book looks at the ways that marriage matters to individuals in general and to children in particular. It moves to the public policy arena and how ideologically driven activists' long-term and determined push for same-sex "marriage" is a serious attack on one of the nation's foundation stones.
