Close relationships

Types of relationships Boyfriend · Casual · Cohabitation · Concubinage · Courtesan · Domestic partnership · Family · Friendship · Girlfriend · Husband · Kinship · Marriage · Mistress (lover) · Monogamy · Non-monogamy · Pederasty · Polyamory · Polyfidelity · Polygamy · Romantic friendship · Same-sex relationship · Significant other · Soulmate · Widowhood · Wife Major relationship events Courtship · Bonding · Divorce · Relationship breakup · Romance · Separation · Wedding Feelings and emotions Affinity · Attachment · Compersion · Infatuation · Intimacy · Jealousy · Limerence · Love · Passion · Platonic love · Polyamory · Psychology of monogamy Human practices Bride price (Dower · Dowry) · Hypergamy · Relationship abuse · Sexuality · Teen dating violence

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Family law

Entering into marriage

Prenuptial agreement Marriage Common-law marriage Same-sex marriage

Legal states similar to marriage

Cohabitation · Civil union Domestic partnership Registered partnership Putative marriage

Dissolution of marriage

Annulment · Divorce · Alimony

Issues affecting children

Paternity · Legitimacy Adoption · Legal guardian Ward · Emancipation of minors Foster care Child Protective Services (United States) Parental responsibility Contact (including visitation) Residence in English law Custody · Child support

Related areas

Spousal abuse · Child abuse Child abduction · Child marriage Adultery · Bigamy · Incest

Conflict of laws

Marriage · Nullity · Divorce

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Marriage is a social, spiritual, or legal union of individuals. This union may also be called matrimony, while the ceremony that marks its beginning is usually called a wedding and the married status created is sometimes called wedlock.

Marriage is an institution in which interpersonal relationships (usually intimate and sexual) are acknowledged by the state, by religious authority, or by both. It is often viewed as a contract. Civil marriage is the legal concept of marriage as a governmental institution, in accordance with marriage laws of the jurisdiction. If recognized by the state, by the religion(s) to which the parties belong or by society in general, the act of marriage changes the personal and social status of the individuals who enter into it.

People marry for many reasons, but usually one or more of the following: legal, social, and economic stability; the formation of a family unit; procreation and the education and nurturing of children; legitimizing sexual relations; to fulfil religious obligations; public declaration of love; or to obtain citizenship.^[1][2]

Marriage may take many forms: for example, a union between one man and one woman as husband and wife is a monogamous heterosexual marriage; polygamy – in which a person takes more than one spouse – which includes, polygyny in which a man takes more than one wife, and polyandry in which a woman takes more than one husband have been common in some societies.^[3] Recently, some jurisdictions^[4] and denominations^[5][6][7] have begun to recognize same-sex marriage, uniting people of the same sex.

A marriage is often formalized during a marriage ceremony,^[8] which may be performed either by a religious officiant, by a secular State authorised officiator, or (in weddings that have no church or state affiliation) by a trusted friend of the wedding participants. The act of marriage usually creates normative or legal obligations between the individuals involved and, in many societies, their extended families.

Article 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declares that "Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution. Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses." The Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam gives men and women the "right to marriage" regardless of their race, colour or nationality, but not religion.

Marriage ceremony

A marriage is usually formalised at a wedding or marriage ceremony.^[8] The ceremony may be officiated either by a religious official, by a government official or by a state approved celebrant. In many European and some Latin American countries, any religious ceremony must be held separately from the required civil ceremony. Some countries – such as Belgium, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Romania and Turkey^[27] – require that a civil ceremony take place before any religious one. In some countries – notably the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Norway and Spain – both ceremonies can be held together; the officiant at the religious and civil ceremony also serving as agent of the state to perform the civil ceremony. To avoid any implication that the state is "recognizing" a religious marriage (which is prohibited in some countries) – the "civil" ceremony is said to be taking place at the same time as the religious ceremony. Often this involves simply signing a register during the religious ceremony. If the civil element of the religious ceremony is omitted, the marriage is not recognised by government under the law.

While some countries, such as Australia, permit marriages to be held in private and at any location, others, including England and Wales, require that the civil ceremony be conducted in a place open to the public and specially sanctioned by law. In England, the place of marriage need no longer be a church or registry office, but could also be a hotel, historic building or other venue that has obtained the necessary licence. An exception can be made in the case of marriage by special emergency license, which is normally granted only when one of the parties is terminally ill. Rules about where and when persons can marry vary from place to place. Some regulations require that one of the parties reside in the locality of the registry office.

Within the parameters set by the law of the jurisdiction in which a marriage or wedding takes place, each religious authority has rules for the manner in which weddings are to be conducted by their officials and members.

Cohabitation

Marriage is an institution which can join together people's lives in a variety of emotional and economic ways. In many Western cultures, marriage usually leads to the formation of a new household comprising the married couple, with the married couple living together in the same home, often sharing the same bed, but in some other cultures this is not the tradition.^[28] Among the Minangkabau of West Sumatra, residency after marriage is matrilocal, with the husband moving into the household of his wife's mother.^[29] Residency after marriage can also be patrilocal or avunculocal. Also, in southwestern China, walking marriages, in which the husband and wife do not live together, have been a traditional part of the Mosuo culture.^[30] Walking marriages have also been increasingly common in modern Beijing. Guo Jianmei, director of the center for women's studies at Beijing University, told a Newsday correspondent, "Walking marriages reflect sweeping changes in Chinese society."^[31] A similar arrangement in Saudi Arabia, called misyar marriage, also involves the husband and wife living separately but meeting regularly.^[32]

Conversely, marriage is not a prerequisite for cohabitation. In some cases couples living together do not wish to be recognised as married, such as when pension or alimony rights are adversely affected, or because of taxation consideration, or because of immigration issues, and for many other reasons.

In some cases cohabitation may constitute a common-law marriage, and in some countries the laws recognise cohabitation in preference to the formality of marriage for taxation and social security benefits. This is the case, for example, in Australia.^[33]

Sex and procreation

Marriage typically requires consummation by sexual intercourse, and non-consummation (that is, failure or refusal to engage in sex) may be grounds for an annulment.^[34]

There are some married couples who remain childless either by choice or due to infertility or other factors preventing conception or bearing of children. In some cultures, marriage imposes an obligation on women to bear children. In northern Ghana, for example, payment of bridewealth signifies a woman's requirement to bear children, and women using birth control face substantial threats of physical abuse and reprisals.^[35]

On the other hand, marriage is not a prerequisite for having children, and having children outside of marriage is today not as uncommon as it used to be. In the United States, the National Center for Health Statistics reported that in 1992, 30.1 percent of births were to unmarried women.^[36][37] In 2006, that number had risen to 38.5 percent.^[38] Until recently, children born outside of marriage were termed illegitimate and suffered legal disadvantages and social stigma. In recent years the legal relevance of illegitimacy has declined and social acceptance increased, especially in western countries.

Many of the world's major religions look with disfavor on sexual relations outside of marriage.^[39] Sexual relations by a married person with someone other than his/her spouse is normally called adultery, and is also frequently disapproved by the major world religions (some calling it a sin), and has often been - in some jurisdictions continues to be - a crime and grounds for divorce. (See adultery.)

Marriage law

Rights and obligations

A marriage, by definition, bestows rights and obligations on the married parties, and sometimes on relatives as well, being the sole mechanism for the creation of affinal ties (in-laws). These may include:

• giving a husband/wife or his/her family control over a spouse’s sexual services, labor, and property.
• giving a husband/wife responsibility for a spouse’s debts.
• giving a husband/wife visitation rights when his/her spouse is incarcerated or hospitalized.
• giving a husband/wife control over his/her spouse’s affairs when the spouse is incapacitated.
• establishing the second legal guardian of a parent’s child.
• establishing a joint fund of property for the benefit of children.
• establishing a relationship between the families of the spouses.

These rights and obligations vary considerably between societies, and between groups within society.^[40]

Marriage and religion

All mainstream religions have strong views relating to marriage. Most religions perform a wedding ceremony to solemnize the beginning of a marriage. Some regard marriage as simply a contract, while others regard it as a sacred institution.

Christianity

Liturgical Christian communions - notably Anglicanism, Catholicism, and Orthodoxy - consider marriage (sometimes termed holy matrimony) to be an expression of divine grace, termed a sacrament or mystery. In Western ritual, the ministers of the sacrament are the husband and wife themselves, with a bishop, priest, or deacon merely witnessing the union on behalf of the church, and adding a blessing. In Eastern ritual churches, the bishop or priest functions as the actual minister of the Sacred Mystery (Eastern Orthodox deacons may not perform marriages). Western Christians commonly refer to marriage a vocation, while Eastern Christians consider it an ordination and a martyrdom, though the theological emphases indicated by the various names are not excluded by the teachings of either tradition. Marriage is commonly celebrated in the context of a Eucharistic service (a nuptial Mass or Divine Liturgy). The sacrament of marriage is indicative of the relationship between Christ and the Church (Ephesians 5:29-32), yet most Reformed Christians would deny the elevation of marriage to the status of a sacrament, nevertheless it is considered a covenant between spouses before God. (cf. Ephesians 5:31-33) Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly referred to as Mormons or the LDS Church, believe that "marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children." The LDS belief is that marriage between a man and a woman can last beyond death and into eternity.^[41]

Judaism

In Judaism, marriage is viewed as a contractual bond commanded by God in which a man and a woman come together to create a relationship in which God is directly involved.^[42] Though procreation is not the sole purpose, a Jewish marriage is also expected to fulfill the commandment to have children.^[43] The main focus centers around the relationship between the husband and wife. Kabbalistically, marriage is understood to mean that the husband and wife are merging together into a single soul. This is why a man is considered "incomplete" if he is not married, as his soul is only one part of a larger whole that remains to be unified.^[44]

Islam

A Muslim couple being wed alongside the Tungabhadra River at Hampi, India.

Islam also commends marriage, with the age of marriage being whenever the individuals feel ready, financially and emotionally, for marriage. According to Shia Islam marriage doesn't require any witness or official statement or presence in a definite place.^[45] To create a religious contract between them, it is sufficient that a man and a woman indicate an intention to marry each other and recite the requisite words.^[46][47] A couple can live with each other as a family without an official contract. Of course there are some criteria which should be observed; for example, the woman should be single.^[48][49]

Bahá'í

In the Bahá'í Faith marriage is encouraged and viewed as a mutually strengthening bond, but is not obligatory. A Bahá'í marriage requires the couple to choose each other, and then the consent of all living parents.^[50]

Hinduism

Hindu marriage ceremony from a Rajput wedding.

Hinduism sees marriage as a sacred duty that entails both religious and social obligations. Old Hindu literature in Sanskrit gives many different types of marriages and their categorization ranging from "Gandharva Vivaha" (instant marriage by mutual consent of participants only, without any need for even a single third person as witness) to normal (present day) marriages, to "Rakshasa Vivaha" (marriage performed by abduction of one participant by the other participant, usually, but not always, with the help of other persons).

Same sex marriage

For the most part, religious traditions in the world reserve marriage to heterosexual unions, but there are exceptions including Unitarian Universalist, Metropolitan Community Church, and Quaker, United Church of Canada and Reform Jewish congregations.^[51][52]

References