Annotation: Problem and purpose. The relevance of the research topic is associated with the growing violation of the process of transferring the norms and values of marriage and family relations, which have developed during a long historical path, to the modern generation, which is one of the main factors that undermine the traditional foundations of marriage and family in the modern world. These circumstances necessitate the identification of modern trends in the development of marriage and family relations, which determine the increasing risks in this area of human relationships and determine the role of marriage and family in the socio-historical process from traditional positions rooted in religious dogmas. The purpose of the research presented in the publication is to provide a comparative analysis of secular and ecclesiastical understanding of marriage and family; identification of factors of optimization of modern values of marriage and family relations. Methodology. The methodological foundations of this study were: the method of historical and logical, empirical description, sociological survey. The empirical basis of this work was formed by the results of a comparative analysis of religious and irreligious understanding of marriage and family relations, as well as the results of our own sociological research conducted among students of the Belgorod State Agrarian University. Methods of mathematical statistics were used to process the sociological survey (n = 310). Results. The authors reveal the essence of the phenomenon of marriage and family relations; a comparative analysis of the secular and church understanding of marriage and family was carried out; the conditions and factors for optimizing the values of marriage and family relations in modern conditions are determined; the ways that contribute to the transformation of traditional models of marriage and family relations into modern society are presented; proposals for improving the modern model of marriage and family relations have been developed and applied in practice. Conclusion. The study made it possible to obtain a comprehensive understanding of family and marriage relations in modern conditions. Research materials can be used to optimize the processes of the formation of marriage and family relations.