CONNOR TOMLINSON ON WHY MARRY YOUNG

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Connor Tomlinson is a young social commentator and influencer with a growing following who has decided to marry young, relative to his peers. Connor co-hosts at the New Culture Forum and contributes to Courage Media and The Critic, among others. Our conversation is sharp and practical. It digs into why marriage matters for men, women and children. He speaks at pace so you’ll have to focus, but do listen to the full interview (audio only) here and let me know what you think.

Connor brings the focus back to first principles. Culture starts at home. As he puts it, “every single civilization begins from the household and household economy”. Strong households shape habits, inculcate duty, and give children a secure start.

On cohabitation, he refuses to play along with the idea that living together is enough. He notes that “what is it? 46% of children reach age 14 now and they’re not living with one or more biological parent. That’s usually the father.” The human cost is plain. IFS research finds that parental separation lowers family wellbeing and diminishes resources for children, affecting them well into adulthood.

Marriage, he says, is a covenant that holds when life gets hard. “So, obviously, marriage is not just a symbolic occasion. It’s not just an occasion where you get your friends and family together to have a drink…” A couple needs a shared anchor to keep going when circumstances change. Hence his comments about the “third anchor point” that holds couples together. That anchor is “the value of commitment as codified in your vows made before God and all of your friends and family”.

For those starting out, the message is bracing and hopeful. Do not reduce life together to a rota of bills and chores. “You need to take a kind of leap of faith” and build a home where promises are real, fathers are present, and children can flourish.

At C4M the case for real marriage is always front and centre. Man-woman marriage offers children the best shot at stability, gives husbands and wives a clear path to lifelong commitment, and underpins a healthy society. Connor underlines why that truth needs saying plainly, and why it is worth living out.