Cohabitation

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This article is about a living arrangement. For the situation in governmental politics, please see Cohabitation (government).

Cohabitation is defined as an emotional, physical, and intellectually intimate relationship which includes a common living place and which exists without the benefit of legal, cultural, or religious sanction. The cohabiting population, although inclusive of all ages, is mainly made up of those between the ages of 25 and 34<ref>Cohabitation is replacing dating USA Today 7/17/2005</ref>. Several common reasons for couples to decide to live together include wanting to test compatibility before marrying, living with someone before marriage as a way to avoid divorce, and/or seeing little difference between the commitment to live together and the commitment to marriage. But the three most important positive consequences and reasons commonly cited by cohabiting couples are simply companionship, sexual gratification, and economic gain.Template:Fact In some jurisdictions such arrangements can become legally formalized as a common-law marriage either after the duration of a specified period or the birth of a child of the couple.

Traditionally in the Western World, a man and a woman who lived together without being married were socially shunned; in some jurisdictions, this was even illegal. Today, cohabitation is a common pattern among younger people, especially those who desire marriage but whose financial situation temporarily precludes it.

Much opposition to cohabitation comes from religious groups, for example Christians. This stems from the Bible regarding sex outside of a committed marriage relationship as outside of God`s perfect will for humankind. For example Proverbs chapter 5, verse 17: "Save yourself for your wife and don`t have sex with other women." Such groups sometimes call cohabitation "living in sin", but this phrase is perhaps misleading as sin is not merely a matter of sexual behaviour. Other opponents refer to cohabitation with the epithet "shacking up."

Some couples prefer cohabitation because it does not legally commit them for an extended period of time, and because it is easier to establish and dissolve. In many countries (such as Scotland) and some states in the U.S., such cohabitations can be viewed legally as common-law marriages, especially if the couple consider one another as husband and wife and behave accordingly. (This helps provide the surviving partner a legal basis for inheriting the deceased's belongings in the case of the death of their cohabiting partner.)

Several U.S. states legislatively forbid cohabitation among heterosexual partners. These laws, though no longer enforced by the courts, have been used by various public agencies to discriminate against their employees. Some civil-rights activists believe that such use of the law is unconstitutional, and provides homosexuals with rights that are denied to heterosexuals Template:Fact. It may be arguable in view of the opinion in Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003) that such laws making cohabitation illegal are unconstitutional.

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