I say "current" because it has been known to change.
Here is a post I made on a friend's private page in response to the question,"why do people marry".
Marriage has little or nothing to do with the individuals involved and everything to do with a society that created the convention. It's nothing more than a statement and subsequent label. But the two are important. Marriage tells other possible mates to keep their distance and allows for secure breeding conducive to child rearing (the security). Less instinctive, but still entirely due to societal influence, marriage says to friends and family how much a couple cares. It's kind of like a facebook wall conversations, a public display pretending not to be. You're more likely to keep your vow if people or deities are in on it (the convention). Finally, due to tradition, married couples themselves actually buy into its meaning, so it creates a nice temporary high; a pat on the back. It's all B.S. but when most everyone buys into it, and our existence is inescapably tied to "everyone", it becomes really important. I'd marry/will marry if I find someone I want to spend the rest of life with (and they don't laugh at me when I ask).
