Covenant marriage requiring premarital counseling and tighter strictures on divorce have recently emerged in a few American states. At the same time, the doctrine of covenant has reemerged in religious circles as a common way to map the spiritual dimensions of marriage. This volume brings together leading scholars from Jewish, Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, and Islamic religious traditions as well as experts on American covenant marriage. The introduction carries out an unprecedented comparison of contract and covenant in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim understandings of marriage. In the remainder of the book, some of the best scholars in the field examine the nature of marriage through the fascinating binocular lenses of law and religion.
