PAUL RAHE: No-Fault Divorce and Prenuptial Agreements.

No-fault divorce had its origins in the early 1950s in Oklahoma —”the buckle on the Bible belt” — and its chief advocates were Baptist ministers who feared that making divorce awkward and difficult would promote that worst of all evils — drum roll, please: fornication.

What resulted was a system of serial civil monogamy. When I left Oklahoma for Hillsdale seven years ago, Oklahoma ranked first in the nation in divorce — not because Oklahomans were especially given to fornication and adultery, but because they were especially given to what we now mistakenly think of as marriage. Those who merely shack up never end up in divorce court.