making marriage "more difficult"

Economists call this "barriers to entry" and a cartel...

Earlier, I had blogged about a more impressive program in Oregon...

In this case, I like it a lot! It's important that churches and pastors/priests have standards for allowing people to embrace the imprimatur of the Church and of God-- if they're going to participate in their weddings.

From today's C-J...

Getting married just got more complicated for couples in the Fort Wayne area.

Clergy from 37 churches in the region signed an agreement Friday to require that couples undergo counseling and take other steps intended to increase the chances of lifelong marriages and stable families. The pact was developed by Healthy Marriages of Allen County.

The group is part of Indianapolis' Indiana Healthy Marriage and Family Coalition Inc., which last year obtained a five-year, $540,000 demonstration grant from President Bush's faith-based marriage promotion initiative.

"What we're trying to do is to make it difficult for a couple to find a church that will marry them without some kind of preparation," said the Rev. Charles Sunberg, a member of the Healthy Marriages board.

Aside from the federal funding, this sounds like a wonderful idea...