RELIGION AND SELF-EFFICACY AS CORRELATES OF MARITAL ADJUSTMENT AMONG MARRIED PERSONS IN ETHIOPE WEST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF DELTA STATE (GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING PROJECT TOPICS AND MATERIALS)
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
Marriage is a social institution that forms the bases of human communication in which a man and a woman are attracted to each other. The genesis of marriage and family can be traced to the Holy Bible. God ordained marriage for three purposes: for companionship, pleasure and procreation. Marriage is a socially sanctioned union, typically between one man and one woman usually called husband and wife. The type and functions of marriage vary from culture to culture. Legally sanctioned marriages are generally conducted between heterosexual couples, although there are a few countries that recognize same-sex marriage (Broude, 2004). The prevailing view towards marriage is that it is based on emotional attachment between the partners and entered into voluntarily.
Marriage is perceived by Waite and Gallargher (2011) as a social institution under which a man and a woman establish their decision to live as husband and wife by legal commitment and or religious ceremonies. One ultimate thing that must be born in mind is that marriage institution is not accidental, but meant to achieve certain purposes. Marriage is also a socially acknowledged and approved sexual union between two adult individuals (Amato & Deboer, 2011). It is a unique institution that affirms and supports a distinct sociology in human culture; bridging of the gender gap, facilitates the generation of life through the fusion of sexes; and promotes the birth right of children to know, to be connected to, and to be in stable relationship with their natural parents (Papeboes & Whitehead, 2011). Marriage is a legal union between a man and a woman as husband and wife, which further connotes matrimony, wedlock, alliance, association and union (Ariyo, 2005).
