The Conditions of a Good Marriage: Secular and Religious Views

One might ask themselves what the conditions of a good marriage are. The answer to this question depends on whether the person is looking at it from a secular or religious perspective. Those looking at it from the secular view would say that a good marriage is made up of love, trust, honesty, understanding, etc. but from the religious perspective there is an added element. This element is faith, whether it is put in God, Allah, Buddha or another deity. But it can be said that both the religious and secular views have something in common when it comes to the conditions of a good marriage: they believe that marriage is a commitment between two individuals in an intimate relationship who promise to care for each others human needs.
In Jerome Nathanson’s essay, “The Ethics of Marriage”, which outlines the conditions of a good marriage in a secular context, he names three needs that marriage fulfills: security, understanding, and genuine concern for your partner. The need for s...