Although most people enter a marriage believing it will last a lifetime, the divorce rate in the United States is 40 percent. Numerous solutions have been suggested for decreasing this rate, thereby improving this central male/female relationship. One approach is covenant marriage.

Since August 1997, couples marrying in Louisiana have had a choice: standard marriage, which permits no-fault divorce should either partner wish to dissolve the union, or covenant marriage, which allows divorce only after a two-year separation or under circumstances such as abuse, adultery, imprisonment for a felony, or abandonment. Standard marriage remains the popular choice; as of 1998, only 3 percent of newlyweds in Louisiana opted for covenant licenses, although some already- married couples have “upgraded” their vows. The only other state with a similar law as of this writing is Arizona.

Covenant marriage may not be widespread, but controversy...