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  • Election 2024
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      Even if Voters ‘Get What They Asked For’ it’s More Likely to Cause a Fascist Death Spiral Than a Lesson Learned
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      Loyalty and Chaos Play a Role in Trump’s Nominations, But This Schoolyard Tactic May Provide a Better Explanation
    • Progressive Christian Election Response ‘Give us Barabbas’ May Be Well-Meaning — But Functions as Anti-Jewish Dogwhistle
      Progressive Christian Election Response ‘Give us Barabbas’ May Be Well-Meaning — But Functions as Anti-Jewish Dogwhistle
  • Racial Justice
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      Phoning It In: ‘Heathen’ Isn’t a Neutral Religious Description — It’s Also a Significant Force in the Creation of Race in the US
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      With no Viable Alternative on Ballot, Anti-immigrant Movement Claims Victory and Releases Wish Lists
    • New Doc Claiming Columbus was Jewish May Have Some Accuracy Issues — But There’s a Far Bigger Issue We Need to Reckon With
      New Doc Claiming Columbus was Jewish May Have Some Accuracy Issues — But There’s a Far Bigger Issue We Need to Reckon With
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    • With Election Takeaways Like ‘Too Transgender’ or ‘the US is Shifting Right,’ Dems are Determined to Learn the Wrong Lesson
      With Election Takeaways Like ‘Too Transgender’ or ‘the US is Shifting Right,’ Dems are Determined to Learn the Wrong Lesson
    • Packed with Threats of Political Violence, Media Largely Ignore the NAR’s ‘Million Women’ Rally in DC
      Packed with Threats of Political Violence, Media Largely Ignore the NAR’s ‘Million Women’ Rally in DC
    • New Doc Strives for Christian Unity—But What if Unity is the Problem?
      New Doc Strives for Christian Unity—But What if Unity is the Problem?
  • Christian Nationalism
    • Phoning It In: ‘Heathen’ Isn’t a Neutral Religious Description — It’s Also a Significant Force in the Creation of Race in the US
      Phoning It In: ‘Heathen’ Isn’t a Neutral Religious Description — It’s Also a Significant Force in the Creation of Race in the US
    • Trump’s Fervent Christian Zionists Poised to Lead the Military — And US-Israel Relations
      Trump’s Fervent Christian Zionists Poised to Lead the Military — And US-Israel Relations
    • Meet Pete Hegseth, the Man Who Will Lead the Entire US Military — A Man Deemed an ‘Extremist’ by the US Military
      Meet Pete Hegseth, the Man Who Will Lead the Entire US Military — A Man Deemed an ‘Extremist’ by the US Military
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Stephanie Coontz

Stephanie Coontz teaches History and Family Studies at The Evergreen State College, in Olympia, Washington and serves as Director of Research and Public Education of the Council on Contemporary Families. Her books include Marriage, A History: How Love Conquered Marriage, American Families: A Multicultural Readers, The Way We Never Were: American Families and the Nostalgia Trap, and The Way We Really Are: American Families and the Nostalgia Trap.

Politics/Law, Sexuality/GenderJanuary 14, 2010

“Traditional” Marriage or a Break with Tradition?

By Stephanie Coontz

Marriage as we know it is a recent invention.

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