Maybe so, ake, since that's where the thread is drifting, but the motivation was a discussion between Joe and another Catholic about how well the survey explores or helps the Bishop's in the declared objective of preparing for a conference. That seems to be a valid discussion. And by its nature it will take place between bishops and their congregations who are all (more of less!) practising Catholics. It may be true most people here want to see the end of all forms of religion, but that is not going to be something the bishops discuss as a goal, I would think!

Now, since the conference is about the relationship of the church and the family, the question of sex outside marriage is distinctly relevant. And it comes in a wide variety of forms, some of which are distinctly less socially acceptable than others and are likely to remain so. For example, a married couple where one of them repeatedly has affairs outside the marriage is likely to remain less acceptable than long term relationships without either being interested in the formality of marriage.

Whilst this is distinctly off-thread, I think the emphasis on sex outside marriage is ultimately social, not religious. A few other, small, societies have a different structure to ours, but in the main there are a host of implications for society - inheritance, lines of authority and legal responsibility, how costs are shared between society and individuals, and so forth - that are directly influenced by such things as whether a relationship is permanent or temporary, or who the parent of a child is. It is a source of constant concern to me that so few people who choose to live together rather than marry "because the don't believe in it" are unaware of the legal ramifications if one should die without clearly sorting out things like inheritance and pension rights.