One Marriage Under God

The meaning and significance of the institution of marriage has engendered angry and boisterous battles across the United States. In this timely and extensive study of marriage politics, Melanie Heath uncovers broad cultural anxieties that fuel on-the-ground practices to reinforce a boundary of heterosexual marriage, questioning why marriage has become an issue of pervasive national preoccupation and anxiety. From marriage workshops for the general public to relationship classes for welfare recipients to marriage education in high school classrooms, One Marriage Under Godexplores the impact of policies that seek to re-institutionalize heterosexual marriage in American society.