Marriage: Personal commitment. Pillar of civilization. Spiritual covenant. Legal bond. Political football. Source of social status. Site of gender inequality. Tool of sexual regulation. Dying institution. Partnership for reproduction and childrearing. Path to material gain. Reflection of divine love. Legalized prostitution.

One of the most central institutions in modern social life, marriage is currently a site of contestation rather than consensus. In contemporary American society, the meaning and boundaries of the marriage institution are up for grabs, in both cultural and legal terms. Fierce and sometimes ugly battles are being waged over who is allowed to marry, what marriage signifies and where marriage is headed. Marriage has never been a static institution, but it is hardly an exaggeration to assert that at the start of the twenty-first century, marriage potentially faces one of its most significant transformations in history. In the United States and around the world, the demands of gay and lesbian couples for social and legal recognition of their relationships represent a dramatic challenge to the marriage status quo. In their families, their friendships, their churches and synagogues, and in courts of law, many same-sex couples are pursuing inclusion in the institution of marriage by defining and celebrating their relationships as marriages and asking friends, families, religious authorities and the state to do the same. And many people who oppose the idea of expanding marriage to include these couples regard same-sex marriage as a profound threat to the institution of marriage and the stability and well-being of society in general.