Marriage in Western societies, historically tied to Christianity, is based on an 1866 English law, “…the voluntary union for life of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.” Marriage between one man and one woman is promoted as the best form of family because it fosters self-management, interdependence, mutual support, friendship, and the vital function of nurturing children. Marriage has been society's way of defining the relationship between men and women. It has generally promoted motherhood for wives and provider for husbands. But things are changing:

These restrictions and limitations suggest the need for an alternative "menu" of relationship possibilities beyond marriage.

Marriage is often the default heterosexual relationship. It is sanctioned and supported by the state because it is interested in how new members enter society, how men and women care for one another, and how children are cared for. This is the model against which other forms of relationships will be evaluated.

Consider these three other forms of relationships:

1. Critical Familism

Theologian Don Browning of Hofstra University advocates reconstructing marriage and family to support an "equal regard" mother-father team with equal privileges and responsibilities in the public worlds of politics and employment, and the private world of home and child-rearing.

This approach to marriage defines marriage primarily with its child-rearing tasks, stressing the biological importance of the mother-infant dyad. Marriage is how to solve the “male problem,” i.e., the theorized evolutionary tendency of men to procreate but not care for their offspring.

The challenge is to secure men’s responsibility to women and children without supporting patriarchal control........

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