Courting is a term we don’t hear too much anymore. The term we commonly use now is dating. When I was growing up we called it dating. I only know the term courting from old TV shows or books and I thought it was just an “old fashioned” way of saying “dating”. Still, my perception was that there were slight differences between dating and courting. So, since I was curious, I googled it. After reading the definitions of both terms the primary difference between the two seems to be intent.
Courting is done with the intent of marriage or commitment to a monogamous romantic relationship. It includes ongoing activities to gain the trust of the person being courted, as well as trying to gain the trust of the person’s family, friends and community. The person courting is doing two things simultaneously. They are trying to market themselves to the person being courted and family and friends. And in the process they are also learning more about the person being courted, i.e. her personality, likes and dislikes, etc. I think courting is a positive thing for a relationship, mainly because it’s done over a longer period of time. So, you get to know the person well before commitment/marriage. It also shows a sense of true interest and devotion to the individual, since they’re willing to put forth all that effort!
I guess courting is probably similar to “serious dating” vs. “casual dating”.