Marriage

Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and between them and their in-laws. It is nearly a cultural universal, but the definition of marriage varies between cultures and religions, and over time.

Marriage takes many forms, depending on cultural and religious values of the people involved and the cultural expectations of the society in which they are living. It is often viewed as a legal contract. Around the world, there has been a general trend towards ensuring equal rights for women in marriages with men, and greater tolerance toward non-traditional couples.

Etymology

The word marriage first appeared around the year 1300. It comes from an old French word mariage, which itself comes from a Latin word meaning "married." Over time, this word has been used to describe the special union between two people who decide to live together as a family.

Definitions

Marriage is a special bond between people that is usually recognized by culture or law. It creates important connections and responsibilities between partners and often between them and their children. Different cultures and religions have different ideas about what marriage means and looks like.

Some people say marriage is about making sure children have known parents. Others see it as a way to share rights and duties, like taking care of each other and sharing property. Because marriage means different things in different places, there isn't just one way to define it that works for everyone.

Types

Main article: Types of marriages

Marriage is a special bond between two people who choose to share their lives together. This bond is recognized by many cultures and often has legal meanings, giving the couple certain rights and responsibilities.

Monogamy is when one person marries only one partner at a time. This is common in many places around the world. Some countries allow easy divorce, which means people can remarry after ending a marriage. This can lead to having more than one marriage over a lifetime, but only one spouse at a time.

Polygamy is when one person has more than one spouse at the same time. This is less common and is not allowed in most countries. There are different kinds of polygamy, such as one man having more than one wife (polygyny) or one woman having more than one husband (polyandry). Some cultures have practiced these forms of marriage historically, but today they are rarely accepted legally.

Child marriage, where one or both partners are younger than 18, is sadly still practiced in some parts of the world. It is often due to poverty, cultural traditions, or lack of laws to protect children. Many countries now work to end child marriage because it can harm the health and future of young people.

Same-sex marriages, where two people of the same gender marry, are now recognized in many countries. This allows couples to have the same rights and responsibilities as other married couples. There is also a history of same-sex unions in various cultures around the world.

Temporary marriages, such as fixed-term marriages in some Muslim communities, have existed for centuries but are now less common and often controversial. Cohabitation, where couples live together without marrying, is also a common choice in many places today.

Partner selection

The way people choose partners for marriage varies greatly across different cultures. In some places, the couple decides for themselves, while in others, families or groups make the decision. There are also different rules about who can marry whom.

Some cultures have strict rules about age differences in marriage, while others are more flexible. Social status and wealth also play a role in partner selection in many societies. For example, in some places, people prefer to marry someone of similar or higher status.

Marriages between close relatives, like parents and children or siblings, are generally forbidden. However, marriages between more distant relatives, such as cousins, have been common throughout history. Today, laws in many countries restrict these types of marriages to protect individuals.

Main article: Age disparity in sexual relationships

Further information: Prohibited degree of kinship, Cousin marriage, Affinity (Catholic canon law), and Avunculate marriage

Main article: Arranged marriage

Main article: Forced marriage

Economic considerations

See also: Economics of marriage and Family economics

Marriage can have different financial effects depending on where you live and what traditions are followed. In some places, families might exchange money or goods as part of marriage arrangements. For example, in some cultures, families might give money to the bride’s family, known as a dowry, or the groom’s family might give money to the bride’s family, known as bride wealth. These traditions vary widely and can be important in different societies.

In some countries, married couples have special tax benefits. For example, they might be able to combine their incomes in a way that lowers the amount of tax they pay. However, this doesn’t always work the same way everywhere, and in some cases, it can actually mean couples pay more tax than they would if they were single. These tax rules can affect families in different ways depending on where they live.

Main article: Dower

Main article: Bride price

Post-marital residence

In many places, when a couple gets married, they usually live together in their own home. However, in some cultures, the husband moves into the wife’s family home instead. For example, among the Minangkabau of West Sumatra, the husband lives with his wife’s mother’s family.

Residence after marriage can also be patrilocal, where the couple lives with the husband’s family, or avunculocal, where they live with the husband’s uncle’s family. In these cases, the couple might not have their own separate home but stay part of a bigger family group. Over time, many Western societies have moved toward neolocal residence, where couples create their own new household together.

Law

Marriage laws are the rules that decide if a marriage is valid, and these rules change a lot between different countries. Article 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights says that:

1. 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.

2. Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses. 3. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

A marriage gives rights and duties to the people married, and sometimes to their families too. These can include things like sharing money, taking care of each other if one is sick, and making decisions for each other if needed. These rights and duties can be different depending on where you live.

Marriage has often had many rules and limits placed on it. These can be about age, family ties, race, and more. These rules exist for many reasons, such as protecting children, keeping cultural traditions, or because of unfair beliefs.

Most places have a minimum age for marriage to protect children from being forced into marriages. However, child marriages still happen in some parts of the world, like in rural sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Some countries where child marriage is common include Niger, Chad, and Bangladesh.

Marriage laws also often prevent close relatives from marrying to avoid health problems for their children. Different cultures have different ideas about who is considered family in this way.

Some countries used to have laws that prevented people of different races from marrying, but these laws have been changed or removed in many places. For example, the United States changed its laws in 1967 to allow people of all races to marry.

Today, many countries allow marriages between people of the same sex. This includes places like Canada, France, and the United States. Allowing same-sex marriage has been a big change in many societies, supported by groups that work for equal rights.

Marriage can be done in different ways. Some people have big ceremonies with family and friends, while others might have smaller, private marriages. In some places, you need to have both a religious ceremony and a government ceremony to make the marriage official. Other places only need one type of ceremony.

In a few places, people can be considered married just by living together and being known as a couple, without any official ceremony. This is called common-law marriage.

Some couples choose to have a legal agreement called a civil union, which gives them many of the same rights as marriage but might not be called marriage by everyone.

Religion

Religions have their own ways of thinking about marriage, and each has its own rules about who can get married and how. Many religions share similar ideas about marriage, even though they may have different customs.

Abrahamic religions

Baháʼí Faith

The Baháʼí Faith encourages marriage and sees it as a bond that helps both people grow. A Baháʼí marriage needs the approval of all living parents.

Baháʼí teachings say that both people must agree to marry, and it cannot happen before the age of 15.

Christianity

Christianity bases its ideas about marriage on the teachings of Jesus and Paul the Apostle. Many Christian groups see marriage as a special and sacred promise between two people. Since the 1500s, different Christian groups have had different views on marriage.

Some Christian groups see marriage as a holy promise, while others see it as a serious agreement. For example, the Catholic Church has very specific rules about marriage and does not allow divorce for certain marriages. Other Christian groups allow divorce and remarriage under certain conditions.

Many Christian groups perform marriages in churches, and some require the ceremony to happen in a church building. Some Christian groups also allow marriages for same-sex couples.

Islam

Islam encourages marriage, and people can get married when they feel ready, both financially and emotionally.

In Islam, a man can have up to four wives at the same time, but he must treat all of them fairly. Marriages in Islam need the agreement of the bride’s guardian and the groom. There are different types of marriages in Islam, and some can happen without witnesses, depending on the tradition.

Judaism

In Judaism, marriage is a legal agreement between two people, based on laws from the Torah. Marriage in Judaism is seen as a way to fulfill the command to have children. Jewish marriages have specific rules and traditions, and there are different types of marriages described in Jewish texts.

Hinduism

Hinduism sees marriage as a sacred duty and an important life event. Hindu marriages have many types and traditions, and in many places, parents or family members choose the partners. Hindu law also allows widows to remarry.

Buddhism

Buddhism sees marriage as a everyday matter and not a religious ceremony. Buddhists follow the laws of their country about marriage.

Sikhism

In Sikhism, marriage is called "Anand Karaj" and involves the couple walking around a holy book four times. This ceremony represents the joining of two people as one.

Wicca

In Wicca, marriages are called handfastings. During a handfasting, the couple’s wrists are tied together to show their commitment. Wiccan marriages can be for different lengths of time, and they often include honoring Wiccan beliefs. Wiccan traditions welcome both same-sex and different-sex marriages.

Health

Marriage can have a big impact on health, just like other close relationships. People who are married often stay healthier and live longer. This is true even for serious health problems like cancer, heart attacks, and after surgery. Having strong social ties, like marriage, helps people feel supported and gives them a sense of purpose.

Research shows that marriage helps men stay healthy more than it helps women. For women, how happy they are in their marriage matters a lot. Unhappily married women might not be as healthy as women who are single. Most studies have looked at marriages between men and women, but more research is needed to understand how being married affects same-sex couples better.

Divorce and annulment

Main articles: Divorce and Divorce law by country

In many places, if one partner passes away, the marriage ends, and the other person can marry again, sometimes after a short waiting time. Some places also allow a marriage to be undone, called annulment, which means it is as if the marriage never happened. Marriages can also end through divorce, where people choose to no longer be married. Different countries have different rules about divorce. For example, some countries only allowed divorce many years ago, like Italy in 1970 and Malta in 2011. Places like the Philippines and the Vatican City do not allow divorce at all. After a divorce, people are usually free to marry again. The rules about divorce and how easy it is to divorce differ a lot around the world.

History

See also: History of marriage

Many cultures have stories about how marriage began. How marriage is done and its rules have changed over time, depending on the culture.

The earliest known records of marriage ceremonies uniting a man and a woman date back to around 2350 BC in ancient Mesopotamia. Wedding traditions, including dowries and divorce, can be traced to places like Mesopotamia and Babylonia.

In ancient Greece, marriages did not need a special ceremony—just an agreement between the couple. Men usually married in their 20s, and women in their teens. Married women were expected to manage the home and children. In ancient Rome, there were different types of marriages. One type required a ceremony, and the wife joined her husband’s family. Another type allowed the wife to stay with her own family.

From the early Christian era, marriage was seen mostly as a private matter. By the Middle Ages, marriages were often arranged, sometimes even when children were very young. Over time, the church and later the state became more involved in marriage rules.

In China, marriage traditions changed greatly with laws in 1950 that promoted equal choice for men and women. In Korea, marriage traditions also evolved over many centuries.