To me, the only counterargument to this article is not wanting to live in sin. You learn so much more about a person when you share a living space. You are able to see the good and the bad when people can so easily hide it. Living together also helps the relationship blossom into something even deeper. You are able to 'hang out’ with them without actually doing anything. Being together and not doing anything is very important for a long-term relationship. You don’t always need to be doing something to enjoy each other's company. Finally, when you live together you are able to help each other with small tasks. For example cleaning the house, laundry, or cleaning the kitchen becomes less of a burden when you have someone that is able to help.

TL;DR Cohabitation is not an intrinsically good thing. For the sake of this piece, I will be discussing cohabitation in the context of the UK. The UK ONS reports that “Cohabiting couple families were the fastest-growing family type over the last decade with a statistically significant increase of 25.8% from 2.7 million in 2008…This may be explained by an increasing trend to cohabit instead of marrying, or to cohabit before marriage.” Both same-sex and opposite-sex couple are included in measures of married and cohabiting families; with same-sex marriages increasing and cohabitation in opposite-sex couples increasing faster than marriage. (1) It’s important to emphasise that what is being discussed here is contemporary cohabitation: in fact, cohabitation predates formal marriage in England. (2) As a precursor to marriage specifically it has been subject to intense research- the subject is nuanced and complex. While there was some emerging data circa 2010 (2) which seemed to suggest that there was no increased risk of divorce in married couples who had previously cohabited, more recent studies have indicated otherwise. A 2018 study by Rosenfeld and Roesler highlighted that couples who cohabited prior to marriage were at a lower risk for divorce- but only in the first year. (3) Inertia has been highlighted as a potential contributing factor. Researcher Galena Rhoades speculates: "We think that some couples who move in together without a clear commitment to marriage may wind up sliding into marriage partly because they are already cohabiting."(4) There is nothing inherently wrong with cohabitation. In all of the aforementioned studies, it is worth bearing in mind that correlation does not imply causation. It could be that the factors which lead some people to cohabit- e.g. testing a relationship before marriage- are themselves the problem, and not the cohabitation itself. (4) It has its benefits and its detractors. Perhaps the most concrete detractor for cohabitation is the lack of legal protection it offers: common law marriage does not exist in the UK. While division of assets is covered under divorce law, there is no such protection for cohabiting couples. (5) Ultimately, there isn’t any universal consensus on whether people should cohabit or not- but more protections should be in place for couples who do choose to. 1. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/families/bulletins/familiesandhouseholds/2018#:~:text=1.,the%20decade%202008%20to%202018. 2. https://family.jrank.org/pages/274/Cohabitation-Trends-Patterns.html 3. https://ifstudies.org/blog/premarital-cohabitation-is-still-associated-with-greater-odds-of-divorce 4. https://www.livescience.com/5561-prenuptial-cohabiting-spoil-marriage.html 5. https://www.co-oplegalservices.co.uk/media-centre/articles-sep-dec-2017/think-youre-protected-by-common-law-marriage-youre-not/#:~:text=Common%20Law%20Marriage%20is%20a,law%20marriage%20in%20the%20UK.

**TL;DR – Cohabitation, also known as pre-marital cohabitation has become increasingly popular for both young and old people. So much so, that it's become somewhat of a 'norm' in today's society. And while I do understand the importance of not imposing one’s own values onto other people, or judging them for their own choices, I do believe that living together before marriage is ultimately immoral.** My single and most meaningful reason for why I don't believe in pre-marital cohabitation stems directly from my Christian faith. Simply put, it's a sin to be living that way. Father Joseph Krupp (2004) who wrote about this topic for faithmag.com agrees with this as well. According to him the most significant reason why any of us should avoid pre-marital cohabitation can be found in two sources, namely, “…in Scripture and sacred tradition.” He elaborates more on this with the following religious instruction: “Fornication is carnal union between an unmarried man and an unmarried woman. It is gravely contrary to the dignity of persons and of human sexuality which is naturally ordered to the good of spouses and the generation and education of children. Moreover, it is a grave scandal when there is corruption of the young.” From here then, it is evident that any type of sexual activity is to be reserved for marriage only. Father Krupp also goes on to inform us that perhaps pre-marital cohabitation is viewed as a 'normal' and acceptable way to live (more so in today's society), since this was (and still is) how it's commonly portrayed on television shows and commercials. Furthermore, he also informs us that living together before marriage does not lessen the incidence of divorce. In fact, pre-marital cohabitation can actually increase the likelihood of this. Father Krupp provides proof of this by notifying us that priests doing marriage counseling have first-hand experience in dealing with the rising amount of failed marriages as a result of pre-marital cohabitation. So while I do understand that it’s not my place or anyone else’s for that matter, to condemn people who choose to cohabit, I do not believe in a living arrangement that is outside the context of marriage. Especially if it includes sexual relations, as this undermines the biblical meaning of marriage itself. Consequently, I absolutely don’t agree with pre-marital cohabitation under any circumstances at all. I mean, what are dating and engagement for then? Why is it wrong for a couple to live together and 'try out' marriage? https://faithmag.com/why-it-wrong-couple-live-together-and-try-out-marriage [accessed February 23, 2021].