Lisette Blanchet Ball INTAMS review | Volume 15 | Issue 1 | Spring 2009 | Pages 30 > 36 Why Do People Still Choose to Marry Instead of Just Living Together? (Summary) The paper presents the results of a survey of 100+ individuals undergoing marriage preparation in the Archdiocese of Southwark (South East London) between November 2008 and February 2009. Couples were asked to classify themselves as Catholic or non-Catholic, and then further according to their level of commitment to their faith. They were then asked what their main reason for getting married was, and to choose from 18 possible symbols, which came to their mind strongly when they thought of their impending marriage. When all this data was analysed according to faith classification, some interesting findings were seen, some of which speak of the difference between marriage today and a generation ago, when people married relatively early in their relationship, and at a much younger age. The influence of immigration into the United Kingdom is also a factor in some of the findings. In spite of the nearly universal practice of cohabiting before marriage, the desire for transcendence and permanence can be discerned in these couples, which should be an encouragement to those working in this apostolate. Lisette Blanchet Ball was born and educated in Mexico City. After her marriage to an Englishman, she has been living in London and in the 80s mainly worked as a trainer (goal-setting, team-building, individual motivation). She became a childbirth educator in 1993 and actively promoted community building among new mothers in the London suburbs through the National Childbirth Trust. Also actively involved in her parish, she was appointed by the Archdiocese of Southwark as Co-ordinator for Marriage and Family Life for South East London in 2000.