Ethical Perspectives on Marriage

The work analyzes marriage from ethical perspective, in particular from the Christian ethical perspective. It highlights changes in understanding of fidelity and indissolubility of marriage in biblical and Christian tradition. Current attitudes within the Czech society towards marriage are confirmed by empirical research. This research points to an ongoing transformation of how marriage and family life have been understood {--} starting with the traditional views and ending with the modern views on marriage, family, and unfaithfulness in marriage. The main part of my work deals with the question of fidelity in marriage {--} whether it remains an undisputable value in today{\crq}s society, or it is rather only a nonproduktive ``Christian ideal.{\crq}q Important question we face today is how to promote the value of married life. From the perspective of an individual, parental education is of utmost importance. From the perspective of social ethics, schools and mass media should be encouraged to promote the positive elements of married life and fidelity in marriage as well as