What have luvvies (and the Church) got against marriage?

With a breathtaking arrogance and lack of self-knowledge, Scarlett Johansson, a 32-year-old mum of one, declares: ‘I don’t think it’s natural to be a monogamous person. I think it’s a lot of work. And the fact that it is such hard work for so many people, for everyone, proves that it is not a natural thing.’

So there you have it. the hollywood actress, who has failed miserably in two marriages in just five years, gives us the benefit of her views on an institution that is the bedrock of a healthy society.

She joins a depressingly long list of celebrities — including Angelina Jolie and Madonna — who seem to treat marriage vows as something as throwaway as confetti.

Of course, to survive, all relationships need effort from both sides. But the benefits of a successful marriage are immense, not only for the couple themselves and their children, but for civilised society as a whole.

it’s not only daft luvvies who hold the traditional family in contempt.

this week, the Church of England was yet again obsessing about gay rights as it agonised over whether homosexuals should be allowed to marry in church.

this is happening under the watch of Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who i hoped, given his experience in business, might possess some common sense. instead, he has indulged in political posturing, with a soft-Left agenda that could have been dictated by the Labour Party.

With such weak leadership, it’s no wonder the CofE is dying on its feet.

Despite this, i believe there is hope for the institution of marriage.

New figures show the divorce rate in Britain is falling — and this is said to be partly because today’s couples, who come from broken homes, are desperate not to repeat such damaging mistakes in their own marriages.

As for Johansson, i suggest she heeds the wise advice offered by a judge who refused a 66-year-old woman a divorce in a case at the Court of Appeal this week.

HEr husband wants them to remain married, as he says they ‘still have a few years of old age together’. in rejecting the wife’s demand, Judge robin tolson QC had concluded that her husband’s alleged unacceptable behaviour (it was claimed he was ‘insensitive’ in his ‘manner and tone’) was not unreasonable, and that suchincidents were ‘minor altercations of a kind to be expected in a marriage’.

i wonder if Scarlett Johansson will ever be able to look her daughter in the eye and say that, after just two years married to the girl’s father, she gave it her best shot.

As for the Church of England, isn’t it time it stood up and started celebrating marriage between men and women as the best way of bringing up healthy and happy children?