--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Marriage is not an institution. It's a…" description: "\"“Marriage is not an institution. It's a relationship. Like I said I don't create institutions that's an occupation for those who want to play God. So n..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf6/wm-paul-young-12559_institution_marriage-is-not-an-institution-it-s-a-re_2789095.jpg" --- # Marriage is not an institution. It's a relationship. Like… ![“Marriage is not an institution. It's a relationship. Like I said I don't create institutions that's an occupation for those who want to play God. So no I'm not too big on religion and not very fond of politics or economics either. And why should I be They are the man-created trinity of terrors…” quote by Wm. Paul Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf6/wm-paul-young-12559_institution_marriage-is-not-an-institution-it-s-a-re_2789095.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf6/wm-paul-young-12559_institution_marriage-is-not-an-institution-it-s-a-re_2789095.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf6/wm-paul-young-12559_institution_marriage-is-not-an-institution-it-s-a-re_2789095.jpg) > ““Marriage is not an institution. It's a relationship. Like I said I don't create institutions that's an occupation for those who want to play God. So no I'm not too big on religion and not very fond of politics or economics either. And why should I be They are the man-created trinity of terrors that ravages the earth and deceives those I care about. What mental turmoil and anxiety does any human face that is not related to one of those three”” [Wm. Paul Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wm-paul-young/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker argues that marriage, religion, politics, and economics are human-made constructs that cause suffering and anxiety, urging a focus beyond these institutions. **In simple terms:** Human-made systems cause distress; seek beyond them. Key Takeaway Questionify or reject oppressive institutions. Themes relationships skepticism human constructs anxiety freedom Mood critical reflective Type philosophical social commentary When to use this quote - personal relationships - political activism - spiritual seeking - mental health discussions Key Concepts existentialism social critique psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance personal freedom with societal needs? - What alternatives exist to these institutions? A Different Perspective These systems also provide structure and community for many people. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Institution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/institution/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [While I believe in marriage as an institution, I am also petrified of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shahid-kapoor/while-i-believe-in-marriage-as-an-institution-i-am-also-petrified-of/) [Shahid Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shahid-kapoor/) > [Marriage is not an institution, it is an intuition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-richardson/marriage-is-not-an-institution-it-is-an-intuition/) [Dorothy Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-richardson/) > [Marriage is a plastic flower - marriage is an institution. And who wants to live in an institution?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/marriage-is-a-plastic-flower-marriage-is-an-institution-and-who-wants/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [For a healthy society, those laws and conventions should always support marriage as an institution characterised by an openness to children and the responsibility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-nichols/for-a-healthy-society-those-laws-and-conventions-should-always/) [Vincent Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-nichols/) > [Marriage is an institution, and you must be fully committed to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-simmons/marriage-is-an-institution-and-you-must-be-fully-committed-to-it/) [Gene Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-simmons/) > [The bottom line is, whether you're in it or you're searching for it, I believe marriage is an institution worth pursuing and protecting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-mccarthy/the-bottom-line-is-whether-you-re-in-it-or-you-re-searching-for-it-i/) [Jenna McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-mccarthy/) > [Marriage is an institution and that's where a couple finishes up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/les-dawson/marriage-is-an-institution-and-that-s-where-a-couple-finishes-up/) [Les Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/les-dawson/) > [Even with all its problems, I will support marriage as an institution until something better comes along.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blankenhorn/even-with-all-its-problems-i-will-support-marriage-as-an-institution/) [David Blankenhorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-blankenhorn/) > [I think there is some credibility to the notion that marriage is an institution. It meant something very different hundreds of years ago when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zak-orth/i-think-there-is-some-credibility-to-the-notion-that-marriage-is-an/) [Zak Orth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zak-orth/) > [ \[On marriage:\] It is an institution committed to the dulling of the feelings. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/on-marriage-it-is-an-institution-committed-to-the-dulling-of-the/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [A living system continually re-creates itself. But how this occurs in social systems such as global institutions depends on our level of awareness, both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-sue-flowers/a-living-system-continually-re-creates-itself-but-how-this-occurs-in/) [Betty Sue Flowers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-sue-flowers/) > [I can create institutions, but I can't rewrite the chips in people's heads.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/i-can-create-institutions-but-i-can-t-rewrite-the-chips-in-people-s/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [We create institutions and policies on the basis of the way we make assumptions about us and others. We accept the fact that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-yunus/we-create-institutions-and-policies-on-the-basis-of-the-way-we-make/) [Muhammad Yunus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-yunus/) > [“No two societies create the same institutions; they will have distinct customs, different systems of property rights, and different ways of dividing a killed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daron-acemo-lu/no-two-societies-create-the-same-institutions-they-will-have-distinct/) [Daron Acemoğlu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daron-acemo-lu/) > [We need to create the institutions that will support the society we want to live in. The only answer is collective action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-harkaway/we-need-to-create-the-institutions-that-will-support-the-society-we/) [Nick Harkaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-harkaway/) ## More by Wm. Paul Young > [“But without wisdom, imagination is like a cruel taskmaster.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wm-paul-young/but-without-wisdom-imagination-is-like-a-cruel-taskmaster/) [WM. Paul Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wm-paul-young/) > [“Love is just the skin of knowing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wm-paul-young/love-is-just-the-skin-of-knowing/) [Wm. Paul Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wm-paul-young/) > [ “I," she \[the Holy Spirit\] opened her hands to include Jesus and Papa, "I am a verb. I am that I am. I will… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wm-paul-young/i-she-the-holy-spirit-opened-her-hands-to-include-jesus-and-papa-i-am/) [Wm. Paul Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wm-paul-young/) > [“Igazságos? - mormogta Nagymama. - Jó szó. Anthony, a sérült emberekkel teli sérült világban semmi nincs, ami igazságos. Az igazságszolgáltatás igyekszik igazságos lenni, de…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wm-paul-young/igazs-gos-mormogta-nagymama-j-sz-anthony-a-s-r-lt-emberekkel-teli-s-r/) [Wm. Paul Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wm-paul-young/) > [“Does that mean,' said Mack, 'that all roads lead to you?' 'Not at all.' Jesus smiled as he reached for the door handle to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wm-paul-young/does-that-mean-said-mack-that-all-roads-lead-to-you-not-at-all-jesus/) [Wm. Paul Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wm-paul-young/) > [“We routinely disqualify testimony that would plead for extenuation. That is, we are so persuaded of the rightness of our judgment as to invalidate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wm-paul-young/we-routinely-disqualify-testimony-that-would-plead-for-extenuation/) [Wm. Paul Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wm-paul-young/) > [“Emotions are the colors of the soul; they are spectacular and incredible. When you don't feel, the world becomes dull and colorless.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wm-paul-young/emotions-are-the-colors-of-the-soul-they-are-spectacular-and/) [Wm. Paul Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wm-paul-young/) > [“Freedom involves trust and obedience inside a relationship of love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wm-paul-young/freedom-involves-trust-and-obedience-inside-a-relationship-of-love/) [Wm. Paul Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wm-paul-young/) > [“You love each person differently because of who they are and the uniqueness that they draw out of you. And the more you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wm-paul-young/you-love-each-person-differently-because-of-who-they-are-and-the/) [Wm. Paul Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wm-paul-young/) > [“The old must be torn down for the new to be raised; to have a resurrection you must have a crucifixion, but God wastes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wm-paul-young/the-old-must-be-torn-down-for-the-new-to-be-raised-to-have-a/) [Wm. Paul Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wm-paul-young/) > [“Love and relationship. All love and relationship is possible for you only because it already exits within me, within God myself. Love is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wm-paul-young/love-and-relationship-all-love-and-relationship-is-possible-for-you/) [Wm. Paul Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wm-paul-young/) > [“Your world is severely broken. You demanded your independence, and now you are angry with the One who loved you enough to give it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wm-paul-young/your-world-is-severely-broken-you-demanded-your-independence-and-now/) [Wm. Paul Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wm-paul-young/) > [“To force my will on you,” Jesus replied, “is exactly what love does not do. Genuine relationships are marked by submission even when your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wm-paul-young/to-force-my-will-on-you-jesus-replied-is-exactly-what-love-does-not/) [Wm. Paul Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wm-paul-young/) > [“Love will never condemn you for being lost, but love will not let you stay there alone, even though it will never force you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wm-paul-young/love-will-never-condemn-you-for-being-lost-but-love-will-not-let-you/) [Wm. Paul Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wm-paul-young/) > [“So when you look at Jesus and it appears that he's flying he really is...flying. But what you are actually seeing is me my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wm-paul-young/so-when-you-look-at-jesus-and-it-appears-that-he-s-flying-he-really/) [Wm. Paul Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wm-paul-young/) [Explore all 45 Wm. Paul Young quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wm-paul-young/) ## More Institution quotes > [It's more than a game. It's an institution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hughes/it-s-more-than-a-game-it-s-an-institution/) [Thomas Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hughes/) > [The institution of marriage, if you look at it over many centuries, has come and gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-zeldin/the-institution-of-marriage-if-you-look-at-it-over-many-centuries-has/) [Theodore Zeldin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-zeldin/) > [I don't believe that someone who sets up an institution should be able to take out the money from the institution or pay dividends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pallam-raju/i-don-t-believe-that-someone-who-sets-up-an-institution-should-be/) [Pallam Raju](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pallam-raju/) > [The military is the most esteemed American institution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brianna-keilar/the-military-is-the-most-esteemed-american-institution/) [Brianna Keilar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brianna-keilar/) > [“If two is an institution and three is a person, what are four and five?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oyokids-publications/if-two-is-an-institution-and-three-is-a-person-what-are-four-and-five/) [OyoKids Publications](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oyokids-publications/) > [The British monarchy has the political and constitutional task of subtracting from the government and governors of Britain the papal and kingly airs that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/the-british-monarchy-has-the-political-and-constitutional-task-of/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [“Church historians often ask, ‘Is the church a movement or an institution?' . . . I think it is both. . . . I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-l-shelley/church-historians-often-ask-is-the-church-a-movement-or-an/) [Bruce L. Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-l-shelley/) > [“I left that church with rich and royal hatred of the priest as a person, and a loathing for the church as an institution,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-v-debs/i-left-that-church-with-rich-and-royal-hatred-of-the-priest-as-a/) [Eugene V. Debs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-v-debs/) > [“Modern society, the political body, the legal and judiciary system, the state of governance, capitalism and the very fabric of the society itself, including…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/modern-society-the-political-body-the-legal-and-judiciary-system-the/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [While I believe in marriage as an institution, I am also petrified of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shahid-kapoor/while-i-believe-in-marriage-as-an-institution-i-am-also-petrified-of/) [Shahid Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shahid-kapoor/) > [I've gotten e-mails asking, 'Are you taking students?' Well, come visit and I'll be happy to talk to you. But I'm not a degree-granting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-garrett-lisi/i-ve-gotten-e-mails-asking-are-you-taking-students-well-come-visit/) [Antony Garrett Lisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-garrett-lisi/) > [One of my goals here in Congress, being the youngest member of the California delegation, is to really try and get the institution to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-swalwell/one-of-my-goals-here-in-congress-being-the-youngest-member-of-the/) [Eric Swalwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-swalwell/) > [I think it'd be useful for parents to know kind of what is the culture of an institution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-spellings/i-think-it-d-be-useful-for-parents-to-know-kind-of-what-is-the/) [Margaret Spellings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-spellings/) > [Say what you will about the leadership of 'SNL,' they have crafted an institution as opposed to just running a show. I don't think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-lamarr/say-what-you-will-about-the-leadership-of-snl-they-have-crafted-an/) [Phil LaMarr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-lamarr/) > [Every institution goes through three stages - utility, privilege, and abuse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-ren-de-chateaubriand/every-institution-goes-through-three-stages-utility-privilege-and/) [François-René de Chateaubriand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-ren-de-chateaubriand/) [Browse all 253 Institution quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/institution/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Marriage is not an institution. It's a relationship. Like I said I don't create institutions that's an occupation for those who want to play God. So no I'm not too big on religion and not very fond of politics or economics either. 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