ABSTRACT
If the awkward term "family values" comes up, it will be discussed gingerly as some sort of mysterious and optional product that some households have. Maggie Gallagher, in her book, The Abolition of Marriage, says that marriage “has been ruthlessly dismantled, piece by piece, under the influence of those who believed that the abolition of marriage was necessary to advance human freedom.” Demoted to one lifestyle among many, marriage is no longer viewed by the elite as a crucial social institution but as a purely private and temporary act. At the 1992 annual convention of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, the word marriage appeared only twice among the 200-plus topics and subtopics to be discussed. The therapeutic custodians of marriage don’t believe in it any more and seem determined not to bolster, promote, or even talk about it much.
