Skills for “Marriage of a Lifetime”: An Examination of Muslim Marriage Preparation Handbooks in Singapore, 1974 to 2018

High divorce rates in Muslim marriages continue to be a concern for Malay community leaders and policy makers in Singapore. Since 1969, Malay community organisations here have offered marriage preparation courses to reduce the incidence of divorce. Today, a range of such pre-marriage courses continue to be provided by the Ministry of Social and Family Development, Muslim organisations and private educational groups that are involved in marriage counselling and consultation. In this article, I examine the handbooks that have accompanied courses sponsored by the Ministry. Their content spells out the skills needed to realise a “marriage of a lifetime”. Whilst prescriptions have responded to societal changes, a closer scrutiny of instructions in these manuals unfolds notions of the ‘ideal’ Muslim husband and wife that continue to stress men as providers and women as primary caregivers. Prioritising communication skills of the individual, as these manuals do, does little to change household gender inequalities in the long run.

Przygotowanie dalsze i bliższe do małżeństwa po Dekrecie ogólnym Konferencji Episkopatu Polski z 2019 r.

Getting married in the Catholic Church should be preceded by preparation divided into three stages: further, closer and direct. In Poland, since June 1st , 2021, an episcopal document is in force, specifying in particular canonical and pastoral talks with the engaged couples. The earlier stages of marriage formation have been discussed in scattered legal acts. These documents have the scope of the universal Church and the others are in force in Poland. This study summarizes the regulations that are in force in Poland, regarding further and closer marriage preparation. Some changes were suggested, for the welfare of marriage.

Premarital Education in the Catholic Church: Exploring Retrospective Perceptions of Effectiveness of a Theologically Oriented Program on Relational and Spiritual Outcomes

The effectiveness of a theology-focused marriage preparation program was tested for a group of Catholic couples (N=200). Each couple had been married for less than five years and participated in the same program. The program covered a variety of topics from communication enhancement to a Catholic theology of marriage, including marriage as a vocation and natural family planning. The study assessed the retrospective perceptions of change for relational and spiritual behaviors and attitudes, in light of these theological and relationship teachings. Couples reported increases in positive thinking about the relationship, deeper understanding of marriage as a vocation, and improved communication. However, the program produced less change in Mass attendance, and NFP practice. Results were moderated by cohabitation history, support of mentor couples and length of marriage. Views of marriage in terms of vocation and increased knowledge of NFP were indirectly linked to higher relationship satisfaction via improved communication.

Effects of Marriage Preparation Per Satir’s Communication Model and Narrative Therapy on Empathy and Emotional Expression in Single Young Adults

Background: Empathy and emotional expression, as important psychological elements, significantly impact couples’ marital satisfaction. Premarital counseling models are designed to increase positive couples’ communication behaviors and emotional style. Accordingly, this study compared the effects of marriage preparation based on Satir’s communication model and narrative therapy on empathy and emotional expression in single young adults. Methods: This quasi-experimental study employed a pre-test, post-test and a control group design. The research population included all girls and boys on the age of marriage who were referred to Vesta Counseling Clinic in Kashan City, Iran, from March 20th, to September 22nd, 2019. The study participants were 45 individuals who were selected by convenience sampling method. Then, they were randomly assigned to three groups (narrative therapy intervention, Satir intervention, and controls) of 15 clients. The research participants in the two intervention groups attended 11 sessions of narrative therapy and Satir communication therapy; however, the controls received no intervention. The data collection instruments were the Emotion Expression Scale (EES), and the Questionnaire Measure of Emotional Empathy (QMEE). The research hypotheses were tested using the Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) by SPSS. Results: The present study results suggested that narrative therapy (F=53.97, P=0.0001) was more effective than Satir’s communication model (F=33.82, P=0.0001) in terms of emotional expression. Both intervention groups obtained higher mean scores on emotional expression, compared to the controls (F=29.005, P=0.0001). Besides, the narrative therapy group gained a higher Post-test mean score for empathy (F=101.12, P=0.0001), compared to the Satir group (F=84.93, P=0.0001). Besides, both interventions were more effective in the test groups, compared to the controls (F=68.27, P=0.0001). Conclusion: Narrative therapy was more effective for improving emotional expression and empathy, compared to Satir’s communication model. Family and marriage counselors are recommended to apply these premarital models for young single adults in counseling centers.

Preparing to Say “I Do”

Since its beginning in the postwar era, marriage preparation has enabled parishes to mediate both Catholic theology and broader cultural messages surrounding marriage. Drawing on archival research on two important Catholic family movements from the postwar era and ethnographic observation of marriage preparation in several contemporary parishes in Western Washington, this chapter highlights parish efforts to collectively engage in meaning-making by transmitting a Catholic vision of marriage to individual parishioners. While the vision of a “good” family has changed little from the postwar era to today, therapeutic cultural discourses about self-development and changing marital norms have entered into marriage preparation. Moreover, shifts in the structure of religious authority mean that who does the speaking has changed drastically. Lay persons are increasingly empowered to produce local Catholic culture and make sense of Catholic teachings through the marriage preparation process.

Conflict Management and Resolution: Can We Agree?

In a successful marriage, couples have more positive than negative interactions. There are more times of talking cheerfully than of talking angrily. Positive interactions and good times help couples feel loved and respected. Negative interactions and bad times lead to feelings of hurt, anger, and sadness. This document is FCS2181, one of a series of five publications that are part of Before You Tie the Knot, a marriage preparation curriculum of the Family Youth and Community Sciences Department, UF/IFAS Extension. Original publication date November 1, 2001. Revised November 2, 2005.

Pastoral guidance for cohabiting couples – suggestions for the current Polish context

Premarital cohabitation in Poland, although still not as widespread and common as in many western countries, is becoming an attractive form of being in an intimate relationship for a growing number of young adults. This state of things – in spite of the recent, more welcoming attitude towards cohabiting couples introduced by Francis – is not fully recognised by the Polish Episcopate. The Church in Poland had to wait over two years to receive a general guideline for the application of Amoris Laetitia. Also, until now the Polish bishops have not been able to propose any systematic marriage preparation program (MP) or working document – which would offer principles on how to deal pastorally with cohabiting couples. In this article I specifically concentrate on the newest empirical research regarding the quality of cohabiting unions (prior to and after they transit to marriages) as well as on the new orientation towards those living in ‘irregular’ situations introduced by Francis. Based on these two perspectives, I make several suggestions on how to deal with the Polish cohabiting couples in the context of marriage preparation in a pastorally sensitive and at the same time effective and realistic manner.

TRADISI NIKAH KAWIN MASYARAKAT KECAMATAN RUMBAI KOTA PEKANBARU

AbstrakPenelitian ini berjudul “Upacara Aadat Perkawinan Masuarakat Kecamatan Rumbai Pekanbaru Provinsi Riau” Tujuan penelitianiniadalah mengetahui dan tata cara upacara adat perkawinan.penelitian ini berlokasi di Kecamatan Rumbai Provinsi Riau. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kualitatif dan deskriptif dengan cara pendekatan wawancara dan di rekam kemudian di catat. Setiap suku dan etnik setiap suku dan bangsa memiliki adat dan tradisi yang berbeda-beda, hal ini terlihat ketika adat pernikahan khususnya di Kecamatan Rumbai Pekanbaru mulai dari persiapan pernikahan sampaike pelaminan.Kata kunci : Upacara PerkawinanAbstrackThe litle of the resarch is traditional marriage for the society in the districk of rumbai-pekanbaru. The aims of the resarch are to investigate, analyze And documenting the procedures of traditional marriage ceremony this area.the research is located in the districk of rumbai-pekanbaru. In analyzing this research, the writer applies a descriptive qualtative method in wich the result of the analyzis will be descrobed clearly. The data was taken by using interview, records and notes,the result shown that every tribe and ethnic has different customs and traditions. This can be seen at the time of the marriage process especially in the districk of rumbai-pekanbaru starting from marriage preparation until wedding ceremony.Keywords: traditional marriage cermony, customs and traditions