LET us suppose that it is the duty of theminister to provide instruction in marriage. While some few fortunate students can avail themselves of the opportunity to receive instruction for marriage in some college or university course it must be remembered that there are countless couples who have never had this opportunity In most cases those couples who do not go to college do go to their clergymen to arrange the wedding ceremony. It is here that the wise minister, the one who has well prepared himself, can give some worthwhile counsel and helpful advise. This is a golden opportunity. It seldom comes a second time-at least not for the same two persons. Nash, in his book, Education for Christian Marriage, is of the opinion that the minister with proper training is best suited to give instruction. He says that, unlike the doctor, the pastor knows how, or should know how, to teach the significance of sex in such a way that it can be related to the whole of life. And, secondly, Nash feels that the doctor is linked up with disease to a greater extent than the parson is associated with sin. So, let us assume that the clergyman is the proper person to give premarital instruction. Most young couples come to him. He should have an integrated outlook on all of life. Yet, there are few clergymen who do give instruction. Why? In an effort to answer this question a study was made in the summer of 1940 to show the practice of the pastors of the Lutheran Church with regard to marriage instruction. Nine hundred preliminary postcards were sent to as many pastors in 30 different states and also Washington, D. C., asking whether they give premarital instruction and whether they would cooperate with the study. I received replies from 242 pastors. Of these, 28 indicated no desire to cooperate with the study; 135 pastors revealed that they had no courses of instruction but, realizing the need for such instruction, indicated their willingness to cooperate; while 79 pastors-ten of whom were not Lutheran-indicated that they had courses of instruction and that they would be willing to cooperate with the study. It was not my original intention to send two sets of questionnaires, but, because so many who did not have courses of instruction were willing to cooperate, I thought it might be well to draw up a second questionnaire to ascertain why, if they were interested in this work, they did not carry out some kind of marriage instruction. Therefore, two sets of questionnaires were sent. We had 38 replies from those men who did have instruction. Of the men who did not have courses of instruction but who wanted to help in the study, 57 returned their questionnaires. Now let us look at the story of the returns. Among the men who did not have formal instruction but who cooperated with the study it was evident that most of them, with the exception of the rural pastors, felt that public opinion did not prevent such a program. Some few pastors felt that agencies other than the church might be in a better position to give such instruction. Only a fraction of the pastors felt that there would be any parental objection. They said that the parents admit their inability to provide premarital instruction and have expressed the desire that the church provide it. Several pastors indicated that the parents realize that their children do not come to them for advice and that they, the parents, would rather have the church impart such instruction than some unreliable organization or some undesirable source. Some few pastors felt that this was a matter for Christian parents, while others said that most parents seldom think about it. In most cases, the reason marriage instruction is not given is no reflection upon the opposition of parents. Rather it seems that the parents would be glad for the assistance of the church. Perhaps the church is not providing marriage instruction because other organizations such as the Young Men's or Young Women's Christian Associations or the public schools provide it. But in the survey only three pastors indicated a knowledge of any such work being done by secular organizations. But even if it were given by these other organizations, many pastors felt that the church should be actively engaged in preparing young people for marriage. Naturally, the matter of leadership is a difficult
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Mar 1, 1997
Keith Watson 
Open Access