What Is A Covenant Marriage?

A covenant marriage is an arrangement where marrying spouses agree that their marriage will last for the rest of their lives.

However, it does provide for a divorce in a limited number of situations.

The basic difference between traditional marriage and covenant marriage is how the parties enter into the marital contract.

In a traditional or “contract” marriage, a couple need only purchase a marriage license, obtain two witnesses, and have a state-licensed agent to perform the ceremony.

Covenant marriage is a legally distinct kind of marriage in three states (Arizona, Arkansas, and Louisiana) of the United States, in which the marrying spouses agree to obtain pre-marital counseling and accept more limited grounds for later seeking divorce (the least strict of which being that the couple lives apart from each other for two years).

Louisiana became the first state to pass a covenant marriage law in 1997; shortly afterwards, Arkansas and Arizona followed suit.

Since its inception, very few couples in those states have married under covenant marriage law.

As of the nationwide legalization of same-sex marriage, covenant marriages now can be contracted by either opposite- or same-sex couples.