Thomas Knieps-Port le Roi INTAMS review | Volume 17 | Issue 1 | Spring 2011 | Pages 1 > 2 Editorial (Full-text) A persistent paradox connected with contemporary marriage keeps puzzling scholars and practitioners alike: Today’s couples are perfectly aware of the frailty of the marital institution and they know about their limited capacity of making and keeping enduring commitments – and yet most of them do not refrain from transforming their living arrangements into formal marriage. In a similar vein, couples who do not or only rarely practice in the Christian community and who otherwise would label the churches’ defence of heterosexual, exclusive and lifelong marriage an old-fashioned obsession, find their way to the altar to have their marital vows pronounced in front of a minister and enhanced by a divine blessing. Consequently, pastors will be well advised to make the preparation and performance of the marital celebration a priority of their pastoral concern, just as there are good reasons for scholars to keep investigating how couples perceive and what sense they make of the wedding celebration. In previous issues of the INTAMS review we have regularly referred to studies in this field (cf. e.g. J.Z.T. PIEPER: “An Opportunity for Religious Growth? A Study of Marriage Preparation in Two Belgian Dioceses”, in: INTAMS review 9/1 [2003], 17-31; E. PARMENTIER: “La 'liturgie de bénédiction d'un couple à l'occasion de son mariage': spécificités des Églises de la Réforme”, in: INTAMS review 11/2 [2005], 185-196; R. ROBINSON/C. HERMANS/P. SCHEEPERS/H. SCHILDERMAN: “Your Big Wedding Day: Temporal Goal in Church Marriage Rituals”, in: INTAMS review 13/2 [2007], 178-190; the contributions of the INTAMS Colloquium “More Than Just Being Together: Sacred and Secular Symbols of Marriage” in: INTAMS review 15/1 [2009], 3-50, and S. Fopp, “Trauung als Brennpunkt und Prozess”, in the same issue 15/1 [2009], 51-60). In the present number German practical theologian and Protestant minister Konrad Merzyn contributes further insights to that fascinating research. Based on a series of qualitative interviews he carried out for a PhD project, he corroborates that couples attach a high significance to the ritual promise which they interpret in terms of a mutual self-commitment. He further specifies, however, that in the couples’ self-perception the promise stands in a dynamic interplay with the blessing which is often conceived of in terms of a (magical) protection and enhancement. Promise and blessing then interact by way of endeavour and reward or labour and gift. Merzyn concludes that the couples’ religious competence in performing the ritual and in connecting it with their life-stories is greater than often assumed in the theological literature and in the perception of ministers. Ritual accompaniment of major transitions in the life of individuals and couples is also highlighted in the second contribution, although in an unfamiliar way. Italian sociologist Laura Arosio is intrigued by a number of new social phenomena that emerge in a culture of frequent divorce: divorce parties, trade fairs for divorced persons, even the emergence of new professions like that of a “divorce planner”. She argues that there is no longer any plausible reason to turn a blind eye to the fact that marital breakdown has assumed the status of a genuine life transition that searches for and finally creates its own rites of passage. The question then arises whether the creation of official rites of divorce should not be encouraged to help ex-spouses better cope with the transformation of their marital status. Richard Rymarz who teaches Religious Education in Alberta, Canada, addresses the difficult situation in which Catholic parents currently find themselves. The dissolution of a Catholic subculture means that the plausibility of the faith becomes questionable, and faith transmission becomes much more difficult (see also the author’s previous article “The Family as Domestic Church: A Study of Active Catholic Parents”, in: INTAMS review 14/2 [2008], 195-204). Based on an empirical study Rymarz is able to demonstrate that homeschooling by Catholic families offers an interesting topic for sociological study as it provides an alternative model for the intergenerational transfer of religious culture. Homeschooling families are an illustration of what sociologists have called “communities of practice”. They provide the preconditions for religious beliefs to be actualized in terms of expression and commonality of understanding and practice. Theologian Andrzej Danczak from Gdansk reflects on the importance of continuous dialogue between the married partners from the perspective of the “Domestic Church Movement”, a branch of the Polish family movement that has been inspired by the French Equipes Notre-Dame. He points out that frequency, existential depth, the provision of the right context, but also the acknowledgement of its limits and of personal fears are essential elements for the dialogue to contribute to the thriving of the couple. In a theological perspective, the spousal dialogue creates space for divine grace and inscribes itself into God’s universal dialogue with humanity. All the remaining articles in this issue are written by junior scholars who are presently involved in doctoral studies at the Theology Faculty of the Catholic University of Leuven. They will allow readers of the INTAMS review to get a cursory insight into a variety of topics and research questions that are all more or less closely related to the central focus of this journal. Maryana Hnyp from Ukraine reopens the question of divorce and remarriage in the Roman Catholic Church and argues that a sustainable theological and pastoral solution to this thorny issue will not be possible without a conversion of mentality and attitude, a conversion toward what the Orthodox tradition calls and practices as the “economy of salvation”. Flemish researcher Judith Cockx has investigated how young parents experience pregnancy, child-birth and early parenting and what existential and spiritual meaning they attribute to it; she shows how these experiences challenge common religious frames of reference and what would be needed in terms of a renewed pastoral practice to better support parents during these critical moments of their relationship. Nenad Polgar from Croatia diagnoses a stalemate between traditionalist and revisionist positions in the theological discussion about homosexuality. In his article he searches for an alternative reading of the debate, one ultimately that uncovers the hidden agendas of both camps and deconstructs the deeper projects they are involved in. Finally, Gregory A. Obanado from Nigeria provides an example of peaceful interreligious coexistence between Muslims and Christians in the Afemai region of his home country; he argues that the African concept of family solidarity has the potential to cut across the border of different religious belonging, provided it will also transcend family loyalties toward the universal idea of all humans belonging to the one family of God.