An Investigation into the Declining Number of Church Marriages in Kampala Archdiocese: A Case Study of Lweza Catholic Parish.

Abstract

MUYINGO CHARLES (2011-M092-20028) An Investigation into the Declining Number of Church Marriages in Kampala Archdiocese: A Case Study of Lweza Catholic Parish. The research aimed at investigating the declining number of Church marriages in Lweza Catholic Parish. It was noticed that there was a very big decline in the number of people who were contracting Church marriage in Lweza Parish. The specific objectives of the study were; to establish the people‟s perceptions of Church Marriage in Lweza Parish; to establish why there are less people getting married in Church; to find out what steps the Church has taken to encourage people contract Church marriage. In conducting this research, a case study design was used. The study employed qualitative and quantitative approaches where questionnaires, interviews and focus group discussions were used to collect data. It was found out that the great declining number of people contracting Church marriage is attributed to the big costs involved in the preparations of marriage, people fearing to take up responsibilities involved in marriage, Church marriage not being open to divorce and separation, the hard dictates of culture, the Church‟s stringent terms on the issue of marrying non-Christian partners. From the findings, it is evident that people are aware and they do understand church marriage. This observation is based on the fact that people had various perceptions of what Church marriage is. For some, it seemed to be seeking God‟s blessing while to others, it appeared to be just a ceremony. The idea that marriage is a union, more so, a lasting one between two people did not seem to occur so much with what the people (under this study) believed it to be. It is recommended that the Church should make more sensitisation to the Christians about the value of Church marriage. It is also recommended that Church leaders should encourage parents to allow prospective husbands or wives to be left to offer what they can afford as a token of appreciation to the family of their prospective husbands or wives. The Church should also encourage married couples to always celebrate their marriage anniversaries. The researcher also calls for an investigation into the continued infidelity in Church marriages yet couples promise to be faithful to one another from the very time they make the vows in Church. Key Words: Declining Numbers, Church Marriage, Kampala Archdiocese,