[Religion and marriage (author's transl)]

Marriage according to religious denomination is no longer important because of the philosophical changes in recent times. Reproductive behaviour is no longer dependant on religion for the same reasons. Faith in the naturalness and ordainment by God of the roles of the sexes is no longer prevalent. From 1960--1976 the number of marriages in the Federal Republic of Germany decreased by 30%. The number of divorces increased by 122%. Mixed interdenominational marriages remained steady at between 20--25% of all marriages. Marriages of partners of the same denomination decreased from 76.5 to 68.6%. The marriages oe changed by man and individualized this trend is positive. Intervention of the states leads to conditions which should be avoided, namely that the interhuman relationships become insecure a fact which can be easily abused by demagogues.