My parents grew up in the same small community (where some of Mom’s family still live). They started dating when they were 16 and got married after high school. They celebrated their 66th anniversary last week.
My parents both grew up in families who went to church on Sunday because that is What You Do On Sunday. Neither was very religious, and they stopped going after they got married. Some people attend church for the social life rather than for the theology. Especially in small towns where your only recreational options are churches and bars.
Late 1969. My dad was a senior at Yale, and his best friend was dating a junior from Connecticut College. She introduced him to a classmate of hers, my mom, and my dad’s friend decided to set my dad and her up on a blind date. Two months later they were engaged; God willing, they’ll be celebrating their 50th anniversary next spring. Pretty standard stuff. My dad’s friend became a big deal in television programming in the 1980s - we like to think of my parents’ marriage as his first hit production.
He was a soda jerk; she wanted a soda.