The Changing Face of Marriage

    In my family, the 'domestic church' does not exist. My mom is the head of our house instead of my father, but I do not really see the problem with that. In my opinion, there should not be a "head of the house" because parents should equally be in charge of the house by jointly paying bills, buying food, and loving their children. Therefore, my future family will have "heads of the house," if that makes sense. While my family continues to pray before meals, we never go to church, not even on holidays. We used to, but our lives became too busy for church as horrible as that sounds. The pro of the changing structure of marriage and family are that children have a choice to believe in the Catholic church or not, instead of being forced to attend endless masses every Sunday. On the other hand, the cons of this change include a deteriorating sense of spirituality in the home and less time for bonding over religion since everyone has their own busy lives to attend to.
    I am shocked by the Pew Trust's discovery that those with college degrees tend to have happier marriages because I never thought about how deeply a degree could contribute to a long-lasting relationship. That being said, I do not fully believe this discovery because there are plenty of relationships that last even though one or both partners do not have a degree. On the other hand, I understand how a degree could affect a marriage because a person without a degree tends to make less money, which can lead to financial problems in the marriage and eventually a divorce. In my opinion, I hope to marry someone who has a college degree. I want to be in love with a person who treats me well and appreciates me, but I also want someone who I am compatible with intellectually. Although there are many people who are intelligent but do not attend college, the likelihood of me meeting such people are slim because I will constantly be surrounded by college graduates in college, graduate school, or in my career. I do not feel compelled to establish the 'domestic church' in my home because I want my children to choose what they want to believe in. I never saw the point in going to church as a child because I would always focus on other people in the church, and all I wanted was to receive communion and go home. Therefore, I want to give my children the option to choose the church lifestyle when they are old enough to decide what they want to believe in.