INTERVIEW: CHURCHES ARE KEY IN REVIVING REAL MARRIAGE

Blog

Graham Nicholls is a Pastor and the Director of Affinity, a group of 1,200+ Bible-centred churches in the UK. We spoke about the need for Churches to take a stand in society in support of real marriage, a theme covered in Graham’s recent book, “Reasoning in the Public Square”. You can watch the full discussion online here. 

Graham emphasises the significance of man-woman marriage, stating that “marriage is a good thing” for both individuals and society. He references the recent Centre for Social Justice report, which advocates for government support of marriage, particularly to help poorer individuals overcome the costs associated with it. Graham agrees that marriage provides a “head start” for children, and that those growing up with married biological parents generally have better life outcomes.

Graham passionately argues that marriage contributes to societal stability and addresses issues such as loneliness. We talk about research indicating that married people are generally healthier, happier, and live longer. We discuss Brad Wilcox’s findings in his recent book, Get Married, that the happiest people in the world are married with children.

We also discuss the broader role of people who support marriage in promoting social good, emphasising that their voices should be present in public debates about marriage and other societal issues. He believes we should actively engage in civil society, not just through high-profile platforms but also in local community roles such as school governors.

Graham makes the point that not all relationships are equal or have equal outcomes, and he speaks to the “tyranny” of risking a partner walking away if there is no commitment. He notes that hard work, time, and effort are essential to achieving great outcomes in marriage. Additionally, he highlights that by being neutral in the public square, one is expressing the view that issues such as marriage don’t matter. Graham asserts that “it’s not as though anyone is actually out there teaching the facts – that stopped 30 or 40 years ago”, adding; “People have been teaching ideology since then.”

C4M calls for governmental support to promote real marriage and make it accessible for all, especially the financially disadvantaged. The tide will turn, and we encourage real marriage supporters to actively promote marriage values in all areas of private and public life.