Marriage
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2008-07-16T10:37:47Z
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/* Marriage restrictions */ tidy up
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{{For|the music record label|Marriage Records}}
{{redirect|Married|the radio comedy programme|Married (radio series)}}
{{redirect6|Matrimony|the sacrament or liturgical rite in Christianity|Christian views of marriage|the card game|Matrimony (solitaire)}}
{{Close Relationships}}
{{FamilyLaw}}
'''Marriage''' is a personal union of individuals<!--please do NOT change this to "man and woman" or anything else along those lines. if you have any concerns, please raise them on the talk page.-->. This union may also be called '''matrimony''', while the ceremony that marks its beginning is called a [[wedding]] and the status created is sometimes called '''wedlock'''.
Marriage is an institution in which [[interpersonal relationship]]s (usually [[intimacy|intimate]] and [[human sexual behavior|sexual]]) are acknowledged by the [[state]] or by [[religion|religious]] authority. It is often viewed as a [[contract]]. Civil marriage is the legal concept of marriage as a governmental institution, in accordance with [[marriage law]]s of the jurisdiction. If recognized by the [[state]], by the [[religion]](s) to which the parties belong or by [[social status|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; [[reproduction|procreation]] and the education and nurturing of children; legitimizing sexual relations; public declaration of [[love]]; or to obtain citizenship.<ref>{{cite book|first=James E.|last=Krier|coauthors=Gregory S. Alexander, Michael H. Schill, Jesse Dukeminier|title=Property|publisher=Aspen Publishers|date=2006|id=ISBN 0735557926}}
Excerpt - page 335: '... at the wedding; hence the importance of including in the marriage ceremony the words, "With all my worldly goods I thee endow."...'</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.marriagedebate.com/pdf/What%20is%20Marriage%20For.pdf|title=What is Marriage For? The Public Purposes of Marriage Law|accessdate=2007-01-08|last=GALLAGHER|first=MAGGIE|year=2002|publisher=LOUISIANA LAW REVIEW}}</ref>
Marriage may take [[types of marriages|many forms]]: for example, a union between one [[man]] and one [[woman]] as [[husband]] and [[wife]] is a [[monogamy|monogamous]] [[heterosexuality|heterosexual]] marriage; [[polygamy]] — in which a person takes more than one [[spouse]] — is common in many [[society|societies]];<ref name=Murdoch>{{cite book|first=George Peter|last=Murdock|authorlink=George Peter Murdock|title=Social Structure|publisher=The MacMillan Company|location=New York|year= 1949|id=ISBN 0-02-922290-7}} See also: [[Kaingang]].</ref>. Recently, some jurisdictions <ref>Arce, Rose. ''Massachusetts court upholds same-sex marriage''. Feb. 6, 2004. [http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/02/04/gay.marriage/ CNN]. Retrieved Feb. 17, 2007.</ref> and [[religious denomination|denomination]]s have begun to recognize [[same-sex marriage]], uniting people of the [[homosexuality|same sex]].
A marriage is often formalized during a [[wedding]] [[ceremony]],<ref>{{cite book|first=Schick|last=Eleanor|title=Navajo Wedding Day: A Dine Marriage Ceremony|publisher=Cavendish Children's Books|date=1999|id=ISBN 0761450319}}</ref> which may be performed either by a religious officiant, by a [[secularity|secular]] state sanctioned 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.
==Finding a partner==
A marriage partner may be found by the person wishing to be married through the process of [[courtship]]. Alternatively, marriages may be arranged by an outside party. This is known as an [[arranged marriage]].
Typically an arranged marriage will be finalized only if the candidates approve of the union.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} Parents sometimes enforce arranged marriages on their children because of cultural tradition or for some other special reason (e.g., [[dowry]]).{{Fact|date=June 2008}} Sometimes a person seeking marriage is comfortable with having his or her marriage arranged and, even disregarding parental preference, would freely choose an arranged marriage.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} [[Forced marriage]] is common in only a few communities and often attracts harsh criticism even from people who are generally in favor of arranged marriage.{{Fact|date=October 2007}}
===Arranged marriage===
{{main|arranged marriage}}
[[Image:Lodewijk XIV-Marriage.jpg|thumb|left|200px|An arranged marriage between [[Louis XIV]] of France and [[Maria Theresa of Spain]]]]
A pragmatic (or 'arranged') marriage is made easier by formal procedures of family or group politics. A responsible authority sets up or encourages the marriage; they may, indeed, engage a professional [[matchmaking|matchmaker]] to find a suitable spouse for an unmarried person. The authority figure could be parents, family, a religious official, or a group consensus.
In some cases, the authority figure may choose a match for purposes other than marital harmony. Some of the most popular uses of arranged marriage are for [[dowry]] or [[immigration]].
Though now a rarity in Western countries, arranged marriages in countries such as India are still prevalent today.{{Fact|date=October 2007}} In rural villages, the marriage of a child often has much to do with family property. Parents adopt the practice of child marriage and arrange the wedding, sometimes even before the child is born (though this practice was made illegal by the [[Child Marriage Restraint Act]] of the Indian Government). In urban India, people use thriving institutions known as Marriage Bureaus or [[Matrimonials Sites]], where candidates register themselves for small fees.{{Fact|date=October 2007}}
A related form of pragmatic marriage, sometimes called a [[marriage of convenience]], involves immigration laws. According to one publisher of information about "green card" marriages, "Every year over 450,000 United States citizens marry foreign-born individuals and petition for them to obtain a permanent residency (Green Card) in the United States."<ref>[http://www.usimmigrationsupport.org/greencard_marriage.html United States Immigration Support.org - Green Card Through Marriage]</ref> While this is likely an over-estimate, in 2003 alone 184,741 immigrants were admitted to the U.S. as spouses of U.S. citizens.<ref>{{PDFlink|[http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/yearbook/2003/2003IMMtables.pdf Immigration to the United States: Fiscal years 1820-2003]|2.03 [[Mebibyte|MiB]]<!--application/pdf, 2129780 bytes-->}}</ref>
==Marriage ceremony==
{{main|wedding}}
[[Image:Shinto married couple.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Couple married in a Shinto ceremony in Takayama, Gifu prefecture.]]
A marriage is usually formalised at a [[wedding]] or marriage ceremony,<ref>{{cite book|first=Schick|last=Eleanor|title=Navajo Wedding Day: A Dine Marriage Ceremony|publisher=Cavendish Children's Books|date=1999|id=ISBN 0761450319}}</ref> which is officiated either by a religious official or by a state approved celebrant. In many European and some Latin American countries, a religious ceremony must be held separately from the civil ceremony. Some countries — such as [[Belgium]], [[Bulgaria]], the [[Netherlands]] and [[Turkey]]<ref>{{PDFlink|[http://www.wwhr.org/images/CivilandPenalCodeReforms.pdf Turkish Civil and Penal Code Reforms from a Gender Perspective: The Success of two Nationwide Campaigns]|6.21 [[Mebibyte|MiB]]<!-- application/pdf, 6518326 bytes -->}} (p. 18)</ref> — 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 specially sanctioned by law (i.e., a church or registry office), and be open to the public. 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.
Despite a marriage ceremony being conducted by a religious or civil official, most religious traditions maintain that the marriage itself is the act of the individuals themselves through [[vow]]s, with the guests acting as witnesses.{{Fact|date=July 2008}}
==History==
The way in which a marriage is conducted has changed over time, as has the institution itself. Although the institution of marriage pre-dates reliable [[recorded history]], many cultures have legends or religious beliefs concerning the [[origins of marriage]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The History of Human Marriage|last=Westermarck|first=Edward Alexander|publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers|Macmillan and Co., Ltd., London]]|date=1903|isbn=1402185480 (reprint)}}</ref>
===European marriages===
{{expert-subject|history|date=May 2008}}
[[Image:Brauysegen im Bett.gif|thumb|right|A woodcut of a medieval [[wedding]] ceremony from [[Germany]].]]
No specific civil ceremony was required for the creation of a marriage among the Greeks and Romans; only mutual agreement and the fact that the couple must regard each other as husband and wife accordingly.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} In Ancient Greece, men usually married when they were in their 30's.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} They expected their wives to be in their early teens.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} This age-structured relationship was also prevalent in same-sex relationships among the Ancient Greeks.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} Married Greek women had few rights in ancient Greek society and were expected to take care of the house and children.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} There was not as much emphasis on age disparity among the Romans in marriage.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} The husband was often older than the bride; he might be only two years older but sometimes could be as much as three times her age.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} Unlike Greek brides, Roman brides had many more rights, especially during the Roman Empire.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} There were two types of marriages in Roman society. The traditional form was called ''conventio in manum''. In this type of marriage, a woman lost her family rights of inheritance of her old family and gained them with her new one. She now was subject to the authority of her husband.{{Fact|date=May 2008}}
Alternatively there was the free marriage known as ''sine manu ''. In this arrangement the wife remained a member of her original family. She stayed under the authority of her father and kept her family rights of inheritance with her old family, though didn't gain any with the new family. This marriage could simply be annulled by the separation of the couple.{{Fact|date=June 2008}}
The first recorded use of the word "marriage" for the union of same-sex couples also occurs during the Roman Empire. A number of marriages are recorded to have taken place during this period. <ref> Suetonius ''Life of Nero'' 28-29; Martial ''Epigrams'' 1.24, 12.42; etc.</ref> In the year 342, the Christian emperors [[Constantius II|Constantius]] and [[Constans]] declared that same-sex marriage to be illegal.<ref> Theodosian Code 9.8.3: ''"When a man marries and is about to offer himself to men in womanly fashion {quum vir nubit in feminam viris porrecturam), what does he wish, when sex has lost all its significance; when the crime is one which it is not profitable to know; when Venus is changed to another form; when love is sought and not found? We order the statutes to arise, the laws to be armed with an avenging sword, that those infamous persons who are now, or who hereafter may be, guilty may be subjected to exquisite punishment.''</ref> In the year 390, the Christian emperors Valentinian II, Theodoisus and Arcadius declared homosexual sex to be illegal and those who were guilty of it were condemned to be burned alive in front of the public. <ref> (Theodosian Code 9.7.6): All persons who have the shameful custom of condemning a man's body, acting the part of a woman's to the sufferance of alien sex (for they appear not to be different from women), shall expiate a crime of this kind in avenging flames in the sight of the people.</ref>
From the [[early Christian]] era marriage was thought of as primarily a private matter, with no religious or other ceremony being required.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} Prior to 1545 Christian marriages in [[Europe]] were by mutual consent, declaration of intention to marry and upon the subsequent physical union of the parties.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} The couple would promise verbally to each other that they would be married to each other; the presence of a priest or witnesses was not required. This promise was known as the "verbum". If made in the present tense (e.g. "I marry you"), it was unquestionably binding; if made in the future tense ("I will marry you"), it would constitute a [[betrothal]], but if the couple proceeded to have sexual relations, the union was a marriage.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} One of the functions of churches from the [[Middle Ages]] was to register marriages, which was not obligatory. There was no state involvement in marriage and personal status, with these issues being adjudicated in [[ecclesiastical courts]].
In the 1200s in England it was unlawful for a woman younger than 24 years to marry, but this changed, beginning in the 1500s, to 20 years of age.<ref>{{cite book|last=Spitz|first=Lewis|title=(The Rise of modern Europe) The protestant Reformation 1517-1559.|publisher=Harper Torchbooks|date=1987|pages=pp 9|isbn= 0061320692}}</ref> With the average age of marriage in the late thirteenth into the fifteenth century being around 25 years of age.<ref>Schofield, Phillipp R. 2003. Peasant and community in Medieval England, 1200-1500. Medieval culture and society. New York: Palgrave-Macmillan. p 98.</ref>
It was only after the [[Council of Trent]] in 1545, as part of the [[Counter-Reformation]], that a [[Roman Catholic]] marriage would be recognized only if the marriage ceremony was officiated by a priest with two witnesses. The Council also authorized a [[Catechism]], issued in 1566, which defined marriage as, "The conjugal union of man and woman, contracted between two qualified persons, which obliges them to live together throughout life."<ref>{{cite book|last=Witte Jr.|first=John|title=From Sacrament to Contract: Marriage, Religion, and Law in the Western Tradition|publisher=Westminster John Knox Press|date=1997|pages=pp 39-40|isbn=0664255434}}</ref>
This change did not extend to the regions affected by the [[Protestant Reformation]]<ref>England broke with Rome in 1534.</ref>, where marriage by consent continued to be the norm. As part of the [[Reformation]], the role of recording marriages and setting the rules for marriage passed to the state; by the 1600s many of the [[Protestantism|Protestant]] European countries had a state involvement in marriage.
In the [[United Kingdom]], the [[Deceased Wife's Sister's Marriage Act 1907]] was a statute passed by Parliament that removed the prohibition forbidding a man to marry the sister of his deceased wife.
===State recognition===
<!--Image with unknown copyright status removed: [[Image:Jpmullins.jpg|thumb|left|[[Justice of the Peace]] Steven R. Mullins presides over a civil marriage ceremony by a lake in [[Connecticut]].]]-->
In the [[early modern period]], [[John Calvin]] and his [[Protestant]] colleagues reformulated Christian marriage by enacting the Marriage Ordinance of Geneva, which imposed "The dual requirements of state registration and church consecration to constitute marriage"<ref>{{cite book|last=Witte Jr.|first=John|title=From Sacrament to Contract: Marriage, Religion, and Law in the Western Tradition|publisher=Westminster John Knox Press|date=1997|pages=page 91|isbn=0664255434}}</ref> for recognition. That was the first state involvement in marriage.{{Fact|date=June 2008}}
In [[England]] and [[Wales]], Lord Hardwicke's [[Marriage Act 1753]] required a formal ceremony of marriage, thereby curtailing the practice of [[Fleet Marriage]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/lhr/17.1/leneman.html|title=The Scottish Case That Led to Hardwicke's Marriage Act|last=Leneman|first=Leah|date=1999|publisher=Law and History Review}}</ref> These were clandestine or irregular marriages performed at Fleet Prison, and at hundreds of other places. From the 1690s until the Marriage Act of 1753 as many as 300,000 clandestine marriages were performed at Fleet Prison alone.<ref>{{cite book|title=For Better, for Worse: British Marriages, 1600 to the Present|last=Gillis|first=John R.|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=019503614X|date=1985|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=t3kiLAQxrnMC|pages=p. 92}}</ref> The Act required a marriage ceremony to be officiated by an Anglican priest in the [[Anglican Church]] with two witnesses and registration. The Act did not apply to Jewish marriages or those of Quakers, whose marriages continued to be governed by their own customs.
In England and Wales, since 1837, civil marriages have been recognised as a legal alternative to church marriages under the [[Marriage Act 1836]]. In [[Germany]], civil marriages were recognised in 1875. This law permitted a declaration of the marriage before an official clerk of the civil administration, when both spouses affirm their will to marry, to constitute a legally recognised valid and effective marriage, and allowed an optional private clerical marriage ceremony.
In many jurisdictions, a civil marriage may take place as part of the religious marriage ceremony, although they are theoretically distinct. In most American states, a wedding may be officiated by a [[priest]], [[religious minister|minister]], [[rabbi]] or other religious authority, and in such a case the religious authority also acts as an agent of the state. In some countries, such as [[France]], [[Spain]], [[Germany]], [[Turkey]], [[Argentina]], [[Japan]] and [[Russia]], it is necessary to be married by government authority separately from (usually before) any religious ceremony, with the state ceremony being the legally binding one. Some states allow civil marriages in circumstances which are not allowed by particular religions, such as [[same-sex marriage]]s or [[civil union]]s.
Marriage relationships may also be created by the operation of the law alone, as in [[common-law marriage]], sometimes called "marriage by habit and repute." This is a judicial recognition that two people who have been living as [[domestic partnership|domestic partners]] are subject to the rights and obligations of a legal marriage, even without formally marrying. However, in the UK at least, common-law marriage has been abolished and there are no rights available unless a couple marries or enters into a civil partnership.
===Lack of recognition===
{{Unreferencedsection|date=June 2008}}
The status in the eyes of one authority may not be the same as for another,e.g., a marriage may be recognised civilly, but not by a church, and vice versa. Normally a marriage entered into in one country will be recognised in other countries. Sometimes, however, a religious ceremony or a marriage entered into in one country is not recognized by another. (See [[Marriage (conflict)]].)
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.
==Rights and obligations==
[[Image:V03p128a01 Ketubah.jpg|thumb|right|150px|A [[Ketubah]] in Aramaic, a Jewish marriage-contract outlining the duties of each partner.]]
{{seealso|rights and responsibilities of marriages in the United States}}
A marriage, by definition, bestows rights and obligations on the married parties, and sometimes on [[kinship|relatives]] as well, being the sole mechanism for the creation of [[affinity (law)|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 property|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.<ref>{{cite book|last=Leach|first=Edmund|editor=Paul Bonannan and John Middleton|title=Marriage, Family, and Residence|publisher=The Natural History Press|date=1968|id=ISBN 1121644708}}</ref>
==Cohabitation==
{{seealso|cohabitation}}
Marriage is an institution which can join together people's lives in a variety of [[emotion]]al and [[economics|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.<ref>{{cite book|last=Rosenblatt|first=Paul C.|title=Two in a Bed: The Social System of Couple Bed Sharing|date=2006|publisher=State University of New York Press|url=http://www.sunypress.edu/details.asp?id=61306|isbn=0-7914-6829-1}}</ref> Among the [[Minangkabau]] of [[West Sumatra]], residency after marriage is [[matrilocality|matrilocal]], with the husband moving into the household of his wife's mother.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sanday|first=Peggy Reeves|title=Women at the center: life in a modern matriarchy|publisher=Cornell University Press|date=2002|id=ISBN 0-8014-8906-7}}</ref> Residency after marriage can also be [[patrilocal]] or [[avunculocal residence|avunculocal]]. Also, in southwestern China, [[walking marriage]]s, in which the husband and wife do not live together, have been a traditional part of the [[Mosuo]] culture.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Lu|first=Yuan|coauthors=Sam Mitchell|title=Land Of The Walking Marriage - Mosuo people of China|journal=[[Natural History (magazine)|Natural History]]|date=Nov, 2000|publisher=[[American Museum of Natural History]]}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite news|last=Gargan|first=Edward A.|title=China's New Brides Put Freedom First / All perks, no work in 'walking marriages'|pages=A.04|publisher=[[Newsday]]|date=[[2001-03-19]]}}</ref> A similar arrangement in [[Saudi Arabia]], called [[Nikah Misyar|misyar marriage]], also involves the husband and wife living separately but meeting regularly.<ref>{{cite news|last=Karam|first=Souhail|title=Misyar offers marriage-lite in strict Saudi society|publisher=[[Reuters]]|date=July 21, 2006|url=http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2006/07/21/misyar_offers_marriage_lite_in_strict_saudi_society/}}</ref>
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]].<ref>[http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/itaa1997240/s995.1.html Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 - Sect 995.1(1)]: ""spouse" of a person includes a person who, although not legally married to the person, lives with the person on a genuine domestic basis as the person's husband or wife."</ref>
==Sex and procreation==
Marriage typically requires [[Consummate|consummation]] by [[sexual intercourse]], and non-[[consummation]] (that is, failure or refusal to engage in sex) may be grounds for an [[annulment]].<ref>For example, [[John Ruskin]]’s failed marriage to [[Effie Gray]].</ref>
There are some married couples who remain childless either [[childfree|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.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Bawah|first=AA.|coauthors=Akweongo P, Simmons R, Phillips JF.|title=Women's fears and men's anxieties: the impact of family planning on gender relations in northern Ghana.|journal=Studies in Family Planning|volume=30|issue=1|pages=54–66|publisher=Population Council|date=1999|url=http://www.popcouncil.org/pdfs/councilarticles/sfp/SFP301Bawah.pdf|id=ISSN: 0039-3665}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite book|last=Jones|first=Richard E.|coauthors=Kristin H. Lopez|title=Human Reproductive Biology, Third Edition|publisher=[[Academic Press]]|date=2006|id=ISBN 0120884658}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Ventura|first=SJ.|title=Births to unmarried mothers: United States, 1980–92.|publisher=National Center for Health Statistics|date=1995|url=http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_21/sr21_053.pdf|id=ISBN 0-8406-0507-2}}</ref> In 2006, that number had risen to 38.5 percent. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/06/washington/06birth.html?em&ex=1197176400&en=62f9e9412af61f8b&ei=5087%0A|title=Teenage Birth Rate Rises for First Time Since ’91"|publisher=New York Times|date=2007-12-06}}</ref> Until recently, children born outside of marriage were termed [[illegitimate]] and suffered legal disadvantages and [[stigma (sociological theory)|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 intercourse|sexual relations]] outside of marriage.<ref>{{cite web|author=Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance|date=2006-12-31|url=http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_sex.htm|title=HUMAN SEXUALITY AND GENDER TOPICS: Subjects of major concern to many faith groups|publisher=Religioustolerance.org|accessdate=2007-02-04}}</ref> Some teach that sexual relations without marriage are [[fornication]], which is sometimes also socially discouraged or even criminalized.{{Fact|date=May 2008}} 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]].)
==Polygamy==
{{main|polygamy}}
{{seealso|forms of nonmonogamy}}
[[Polygamy|Polygamous marriage]], in which a person is married to more than one spouse at one time, is accepted by many societies, though it is far less common than monogamy.<ref name=Murdoch>{{cite book|first=George Peter|last=Murdock|authorlink=George Peter Murdock|title=Social Structure|publisher=The MacMillan Company|location=New York|year= 1949|id=ISBN 0-02-922290-7}} See also: [[Kaingang]].</ref>
Africa has the highest rate of polygamy in the world.<ref>{{PDFlink|[http://www.southerncenter.org/af_jan07_lesson5.pdf Social and Cultural Issues]|116 [[Kibibyte|KiB]]<!--application/pdf, 119246 bytes-->}}</ref> In Senegal, for example, nearly 47 percent of marriages are multiple.<ref>{{cite news|last=Diouf|first=Nafi|title=Polygamy hangs on in Africa|publisher=The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel|date=May 2, 2004|url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4196/is_20040502/ai_n10968614}}</ref>
Polygamy is normally not permitted in most western countries (see [[bigamy]]), though some recognise ''bona fides'' polygamous marriages entered into in countries that routinely perform such marriages, such as in a Muslim country.
Cultures that allow polygamy still sometimes place restrictions on it. For instance, in Islam a man is allowed to marry up to 4 women at the same time, but only in cases where (1) his first wife is infertile, (2) the local population is unbalanced with women strongly outnumbering men, or (3) he claims a strong love and sexual attraction for the potential wife which he says makes him fear of adultery. In each of these situations, all current wives are freed to leave the marriage if they so desire.
[[Polygyny]] is the typical form of multiple-marriage polygamy, while [[polyandry]] is rare.<ref>{{cite web|last=Schwimmer|first=Brian|year=2003|title=Polygamy. Kinship and Social Organization|url=http://www.umanitoba.ca/anthropology/tutor/marriage/polygamy.html}}</ref>
Anthropologists distinguish between multiple-marriage polygamy and [[group marriage]], in which multiple spouses all become married to one another. Group marriage is also rare.<ref name=Murdoch>{{cite book|first=George Peter|last=Murdock|authorlink=George Peter Murdock|title=Social Structure|publisher=The MacMillan Company|location=New York|year=1949|id=ISBN 0-02-922290-7}} See also: [[Kaingang]].</ref>
In the United States, the historic [[Oneida Colony]] provides a prominent 19th-century example of a group marriage, though it was not recognised by any civil or separate religious authority.
==Marriage restrictions==
{{seealso|marriage law}}
===Marriage age===
{{main|marriageable age}}
The minimum age at which a person is able to lawfully marry, and if parental or other consents are required, vary from country to country.
===Gender restrictions===
{{main|same-sex marriage|same-sex unions}}
{{main|dowry}}
Some [[legal]], [[society|social]], or [[religion|religious]] restrictions apply in some countries on the payment of [[dowry]] and on the genders of the couple.
In response to changing social and political attitudes, some jurisdictions and [[religious denomination]]s now recognize marriages between people of the same sex. In some jurisdictions these are sometimes called [[civil union]]s or [[domestic partnership]]s, while some others explicitly prohibit same-sex marriages. Same-sex marriages have also been recorded in the history of pre-modern Europe.<ref>{{cite book|last=Boswell|first=John|authorlink=|coauthors=|title=Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe|publisher=Villard|date=1994|isbn=0679432280}}</ref>
In 1989, [[Denmark]] became the first country in the modern era to extend the rights and responsibilities of marriage to same-sex couples under the name of [[registered partnership]]{{Fact|date=June 2008}}. Since 2001, five countries have come to recognise [[same-sex marriage]]s for civil purposes, namely the [[Netherlands]], [[Belgium]], [[Spain]], [[Canada]], and [[South Africa]]{{Fact|date=June 2008}}, and [[Norway]] is on track to [[same-sex marriage in Norway|become the sixth]] in 2009. To avoid the use of the term "marriage", some governments provide [[civil union]]s, which are open to couples of the same sex, and in some jurisdictions also to those of opposite sexes who do not want to marry, to confer all or a portion of the benefits of married status{{Fact|date=June 2008}}. Civil unions (and registered/domestic partnerships) are currently recognized and accepted in approximately 30 out of 193 countries worldwide and in some U.S. states{{Fact|date=June 2008}}. However, in countries where it has been adopted, applications for marriage licenses have far exceeded governmental estimates of demand.<ref>{{cite news|date=[[2006-12-05]]|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2486987,00.html|title=Gay men are in much more of a hurry to 'wed' their partners|publisher=Times Online|accessdate=2006-12-11}}</ref> Some jurisdictions, such as the nations of [[Israel]], [[Aruba]], and the [[Netherlands Antilles]], as well as the U.S. States of [[New Mexico]], [[New York]] and [[Rhode Island]], recognize same-sex marriages lawfully entered into in other countries, while not (yet) permitting them to be performed locally.{{Fact|date=June 2008}}
In addition to civil authorities, some religious denominations ceremonially perform civil unions and same-sex marriages, and recognize them as essentially equivalent to other marriages. For example, [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] churches in [[Netherlands]], [[New Zealand]], [[Sweden]] and some Lutheran churches of the [[Evangelical Church in Germany]] allow blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples, as do [[Unitarian Universalism|Unitarian Universalist]] churches.{{Fact|date=April 2008}}
In the [[United States]], [[Massachusetts]] and [[California]] are the only states to recognize same-sex marriage under the name ''marriage''. (In Iowa, a district court that struck down the state's Defense of Marriage Act issued a stay on the ruling the next day, only one same sex couple has been married under Iowa law<ref>[http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Decision2008/story?id=3548239 ABC News: Iowa Gay Marriage Ruling Stirs '08 Race<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>, and the ruling is currently under consideration by the highest court in [[Iowa]].) In other states, civil unions or domestic partnerships are available to couples of the same sex, often carrying the same entailments as marriage, under a different name. However, these apply only to benefits under state law, and are not recognized by the U.S. federal government or other states (with a few exceptions).
In [[Australia]], de facto relationships are legally recognized in many, but not all, ways,<ref>[http://www.lawsociety.com.au/page.asp?partid=6651 Law Society of New South Wales - De facto relationships?<!--Bot generated title-->]</ref> <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legalaid.qld.gov.au/Legal+Information/Relationships+and+children/Relationships/Same+sex+couples.htm|title=Same sex couples}}</ref> with some states having registers of de facto relationships, although the federal government has amended existing legislation to specify that only marriages between a man and a woman will be recognized as 'marriages'. <ref>[http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/num_act/maa2004165/sch1.html MARRIAGE AMENDMENT ACT 2004 NO. 126, 2004 - SCHEDULE 1 - Amendment of the Marriage Act 1961<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>. As a result, the [[Australian Capital Territory]]'s 2006 Bill to give civil unions identical status and processes as registered marriages, was repealed by the federal government before it came into effect.
These developments have created a political and religious reaction in some countries, including in [[England]], where the [[Church of England]], after long debate, officially banned blessings of gay couples by Church of England clergy,<ref>{{cite web|title=House of Bishops issues pastoral statement on Civil Partnerships|url=http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr5605.html|publisher=[[Church of England]] press release|date=[[2005-07-25]]|accessdate=2006-12-05}}</ref> and in the [[United States]]. In contrast to the three above-mentioned U.S. states where the [[state constitution]]s have been found by courts to require equivalent marriage for same-sex couples, several states have specifically defined marriage as between a man and a woman, often after popular [[referendum|referenda]], including the state of [[Mississippi]] which passed a [[constitutional amendment]] defining marriage as between a man and a woman and refusing to recognize same-sex marriages from other states with 86% of the vote supporting that proposition.{{PDFlink|[http://www.sos.state.ms.us/elections/2004/2004SampleBallot.pdf]|29.9 [[Kibibyte|KiB]]<!--application/pdf, 30678 bytes-->}} Federally, the U.S. congress has considered, but failed to pass, a [[Federal Marriage Amendment]]. In addition, while Lutheran churches in some countries allow blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples, as stated previously, in other countries, (such as [[Finland]]) such ceremonies are discouraged and rarely performed by the church.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
===Kinship restrictions===
Societies have often placed restrictions on marriage to relatives, though the degree of prohibited relationship varies widely. In most societies, marriage between brothers and sisters has been forbidden, with Ancient Egyptian, Hawaiian, and Inca royalty being prominent exceptions. In many societies, marriage between [[cross cousin|some first cousins]] is preferred, while at the other extreme, the [[Middle Ages|medieval]] [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic church]] prohibited marriage even between distant cousins. The present day [[Catholic Church]] still maintains a standard of required distance (in both [[consanguinity]] and [[affinity (law)|affinity]]) for marriage.
===Social restrictions===
{{Refimprove|date=April 2008}}
Many societies, even some with a cultural tradition of polygamy, recognize [[monogamy]] as the only valid form of marriage. For example, [[People's Republic of China]] shifted from allowing polygamy to supporting only [[monogamy]] in the Marriage Act of 1953 after the Communist revolution.{{Fact|date=October 2007}} [[Polygamy]] is practiced illegally by some groups in the United States and Canada, primarily by [[polygamous Mormon fundamentalist|certain Mormon fundamentalist]] [[sects]] that separated from the mainstream [[Latter Day Saints]] movement after the practice was renounced in 1890.<ref>[http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=bbd508f54922d010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=9887ec6f164b2110VgnVCM100000176f620a____ LDS Gospel Library: Polygamy (Plural Marriage)]</ref> Many African and Islamic societies still allow polygamy.{{Fact|date=October 2007}}
In the Indian [[Hindu]] community, especially in the [[Brahmin]] caste, marrying a person of the same [[gotra]] was prohibited, since persons belonging to the same [[gotra]] are said to have identical [[patrilineal]] descent. In ancient [[India]], when [[gurukul]]s existed, the [[shishyas]] (pupils) were advised against marrying any of [[guru]]'s children, as [[shishyas]] were also considered the guru's children and it would be considered marriage among [[siblings]]. However, there were exceptions, including [[Arjuna]]'s son [[Abhimanyu]]'s marriage to Uttra, the dance student of Arjuna in [[Mahabharata]]. The Hindu Marriage Act of 1955 brought reforms in the area of same-gotra marriages, which were banned prior to the act's passage. Now the Indian constitution allows any consenting adult heterosexual couple (women 18 or older and men 21 or older) from any race, religion, caste, or creed to marry.
Many societies have also adopted other restrictions on whom one can marry, such as prohibitions of marrying persons with the same surname, or persons with the same sacred animal. [[Anthropology|Anthropologists]] refer to these sorts of restrictions as [[exogamy]]. One example is [[marriage in South Korea|South Korea]]'s general taboo against a man marrying a woman with the same family name. The most common surname in South Korea is [[Kim (Korean name)|Kim]] (almost 20%); however, there are several branches (or clans) in the Kim surname. (Korean family names are divided into one or more clans.) Only intra-clan marriages are prohibited, as they are considered one type of [[exogamy]]. Thus, many "Kim-Kim" couples can be found.{{Fact|date=October 2007}} <!--this entire section needs a lot of citations. None of the stuff listed in the above paragraph is proven as fact-->
Societies have also at times required marriage from within a certain group. Anthropologists refer to these restrictions as [[endogamy]]. An example of such restrictions would be a requirement to marry someone from the same tribe. [[Racism|Racist]] laws adopted by some societies in the past—such as [[Nazi Germany|Nazi-era Germany]], [[history of South Africa in the apartheid era|apartheid-era]] [[South Africa]] and most of the [[United States]] in the nineteenth and the first half of the 20th century—which prohibited [[interracial marriage|marriage between persons of different races]] could also be considered examples of [[endogamy]]. In the [[U.S.]], many [[anti-miscegenation laws|laws banning interracial marriage]], which were [[state law]]s, were gradually repealed between 1948 and 1967. The [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]] declared all such laws unconstitutional in the case of ''[[Loving v. Virginia]]'' in 1967.<ref>''Loving v. Virginia'', 388 U.S. 1 (1967).</ref>
==Marriage and religion==
{{See also|Christian views of marriage|Islamic marital jurisprudence|Buddhist view of marriage|Marriage in Hinduism|Jewish views of marriage}}
Many religions have broad teachings regarding marriage. Most religions have some sort of wedding ceremony recognizing of the beginning of a marriage. Some regard marriage as simply a contract, some regard it as a sacred institution.
[[Image:St Mary's Church, Kyoto.jpg|thumb|Christian wedding in [[Kyoto]], [[Japan]].]]
Most [[Christianity|Christian]] [[churches]] [[bless]] the couple being married; the [[wedding]] ceremony sometimes involves a pledge by the community to support the couple's relationship. [[Liturgy|Liturgical]] Christian communions - notably [[Anglicanism]], [[Catholicism]], and [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodoxy]] - consider marriage (sometimes termed ''holy matrimony'') to be an expression of [[divine grace]], termed a ''[[sacrament]]'' or ''[[Sacred Mysteries|mystery]]''. In [[Western Rite|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 Rite|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 [[martyr]]dom, 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 [[Eucharist]]ic service (a [[nuptial Mass]] or [[Divine Liturgy]]). The sacrament of marriage is indicative of the relationship between [[Christ]] and the Church ({{bibleverse||Ephesians|5:29-32|KJV}}), 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)
[[Image:Israëls-A Jewish Wedding-1903.jpg|thumb|left|A Jewish wedding, painting by [[Jozef Israëls]], 1903.]]
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.<ref>({{bibleverse|Deuteronomy||24:1|JP}})</ref> Though procreation is not the sole purpose, a Jewish marriage is also expected to fulfill the commandment to have children.<ref>({{bibleverse|Genesis||1:28|JP}})</ref> The main focus centers around the relationship between the husband and wife. [[Kabbalah|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/448425/jewish/Why-Marry.htm|title=Why Marry?|accessdate=2007-12-19|publisher=[[Chabad.org]]}}</ref> See [[Jewish views of marriage]].
[[Image:Muslim wedding in India.jpg|200px|thumb|A Muslim couple being wed alongside the [[Tungabhadra River]] at [[Hampi]], [[India]].]]
[[Islam]] also recommends marriage highly; among other things, it helps in the pursuit of spiritual perfection. Age of marriage is whenever the individuals feel ready, financially and emotionally, for marriage.
According to [[Shia Islam]] [[Islamic marital jurisprudence|marriage]] doesn't need any witness or official statement or presence in a definite place <ref>[http://al-islam.org/organizations/aalimnetwork/msg00200.html Witnesses for Marriage]</ref> and it is sufficient that a man and a woman intend to marry each other and say specific words to each other, which leads to a religious contract between them<ref>[http://www.sistani.org/local.php?modules=nav&nid=2&bid=59&pid=3079 The method of pronouncing the marriage formula]</ref><ref>[http://www.sistani.org/local.php?modules=nav&nid=2&bid=59&pid=3078 Marriage formula]</ref> and 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. <ref>[http://www.sistani.org/local.php?modules=nav&nid=2&bid=59&pid=3080 http://www.sistani.org/local.php?modules=nav&nid=2&bid=59&pid=3080]</ref><ref>[http://www.sistani.org/local.php?modules=nav&nid=2&bid=59&pid=3083 Women with whom matrimony is Haraam]</ref>
[[Bahá'u'lláh]], the founder of the [[Bahá'í Faith]], recommended that people marry as an assistance to themselves in their well-being, but did not make it obligatory; he explained that it is both a physical and spiritual bond that endures into the [[afterlife]].<ref name="oneworld">{{cite encyclopedia|last=Smith|first=Peter|encyclopedia=A concise encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith|title=Marriage|year=2000|publisher=Oneworld Publications|location=Oxford|id=ISBN 1-85168-184-1|pages=p. 232-233}}</ref> [[Shoghi Effendi]], the Guardian of the religion, stated that marriage is a foundation for the structure of human society.<ref name="oneworld" /> A [[Bahá'í marriage]] requires the consent of the couple, and then of all living parents, as to strengthen the ties between the families and avoid enmity.<ref name="oneworld" />
[[Image:Hindu marriage ceremony offering.jpg|thumb|left|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).
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 some [[homosexuality and Anglicanism#Anglican Church of Canada|Anglican]] dioceses and [[Quaker]], [[United Church of Canada]] and [[Reform Judaism|Reform Jewish]] congregations.<ref>"World Religions and Same Sex Marriage", Marriage Law Project, [[Columbus School of Law]] at The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, July 2002 revision {{PDFlink|[http://marriagelaw.cua.edu/publications/wrr.pdf]|84.1 [[Kibibyte|KiB]]<!-- application/pdf, 86202 bytes -->}}</ref><ref name=united>[http://www.united-church.ca/exploring/marriage/affirmingcongregations Affirming Congregations and Ministries of the United Church of Canada]</ref>
==Financial considerations==
The financial aspects of marriage vary between cultures and have changed over time.
===Dowry===
In many cultures<!--need to specify what cultures specifically--> the family of the bride was historically expected to provide a [[dowry]] to the husband. A dowry was not an unconditional gift, but was usually a part of a wider marriage settlement. For example, if the groom had other children, they could not inherit the dowry, which had to go to the bride's children. In the event of her childlessness, the dowry had to be returned to her family, but sometimes not until the groom's death or remarriage. Often the bride was entitled to inherit at least as much as her dowry from her husband's estate.{{Fact|date=October 2007}}
In some cultures, dowries continue to be required today.
===Bride price and dower===
In other cultures, the groom or his family were expected to pay a [[bride price]] to the bride's family for the right to marry the daughter, or [[dower]], which was payable to the bride. If the groom or his family did not have the bride price to offer to the bride's family, sometimes a [[bride service]] may be accepted in its place.{{Fact|date=July 2008}} This required the groom to work for the bride's family for a set period of time.
In the Jewish tradition, the rabbis in ancient times insisted on the marriage couple entering into a marriage contact, called a ''[[ketubah]]''. Besides other things, the ''ketubah'' provided for an amount to be paid by the husband in the event of a [[get (divorce document)|divorce]] or his estate in the event of his death. This amount was a replacement of the biblical [[dower]] or [[bride price]], which was payable at the time of the marriage by the groom to the bride or her parents.{{Fact|date=October 2007}}<ref>See also {{bibleverse||Exodus|22:15-16|HE}}.</ref> This innovation was put in place because the biblical bride price created a major social problem: many young prospective husbands could not raise the bride price at the time when they would normally be expected to marry. So, to enable these young men to marry, the rabbis, in effect, delayed the time that the amount would be payable, when they would be more likely to have the sum. It may also be noted that both the dower and the ''ketubah'' amounts served the same purpose: the protection for the wife should her support (either by death or divorce) cease. The only difference between the two systems was the timing of the payment. It is the predecessor to the wife's present-day entitlement to [[alimony|maintenance]] in the event of the breakup of marriage, and family maintenance in the event of the husband not providing adequately for the wife in his [[will]]. Another function performed by the ''ketubah'' amount was to provide a disincentive for the husband contemplating divorcing his wife: he would need to have the amount to be able to pay to the wife.
[[Morning gift]]s, which might also be arranged by the bride's father rather than the bride, are given to the bride herself; the name derives from the Germanic tribal custom of giving them the morning after the wedding night. She might have control of this morning gift during the lifetime of her husband, but is entitled to it when widowed. If the amount of her inheritance is settled by law rather than agreement, it may be called [[dower]]. Depending on legal systems and the exact arrangement, she may not be entitled to dispose of it after her death, and may lose the property if she remarries. Morning gifts were preserved for many centuries in [[morganatic marriage]], a union where the wife's inferior social status was held to prohibit her children from inheriting a noble's titles or estates. In this case, the morning gift would support the wife and children. Another legal provision for widowhood was [[jointure]], in which property, often land, would be held in joint tenancy, so that it would automatically go to the widow on her husband's death.
Islamic tradition has similar practices. A 'mehr', either immediate or deferred, is the woman's portion of the groom's wealth (divorce) or estate (death). These amounts are usually set based on the groom's own and family wealth and incomes, but in some parts these are set very high so as to provide a disincentive for the groom exercising the divorce, or the husband's family 'inheriting' a large portion of the estate, especially if there are no male offspring from the marriage.
===General===
In some cultures, dowries and bride prices continue to be required today. In both cases, the financial arrangements are usually made between the groom (or his family) and the bride's family; with the bride in many cases not being involved in the arrangement, and often not having a choice in whether to participate in the marriage.
In [[Early Modern Britain]], the social status of the couple was supposed to be equal. After the marriage, all the property (called "fortune") and expected inheritances of the [[wife]] belonged to the husband. The wife was often called "his property", but she was entitled to his protection, which a single woman was not.{{Fact|date=June 2008}}
===Modern customs===
In many countries today, each marriage partner has the choice of keeping his or her property separate or combining properties. In the latter case, called [[community property]], when the marriage ends by [[divorce]] each owns half; if one partner dies the surviving partner owns half and [[inheritance]] rules apply to the other half.{{Fact|date=March 2007}} In many legal jurisdictions, laws related to property and [[inheritance]] provide by default for property to pass upon the death of one party in a marriage to the spouse first and secondarily to the children. [[Will (law)|Will]]s and [[trust law|trust]]s can make alternative provisions for property succession.
In some legal systems, the partners in a marriage are "jointly liable" for the debts of the marriage. This has a basis in a traditional legal notion called the "Doctrine of Necessities" whereby a husband was responsible to provide necessary things for his wife. Where this is the case, one partner may be sued to collect a debt for which they did not expressly contract. Critics of this practice note that debt collection agencies can abuse this by claiming an unreasonably wide range of debts to be expenses of the marriage. The cost of defence and the burden of proof is then placed on the non-contracting party to prove that the expense is not a debt of the family. The respective maintenance obligations, both during and eventually after a marriage, are regulated in most [[jurisdiction]]s; [[alimony]] is one such method.
Some have attempted to analyse the institution of marriage using economic theory; for example, [[anarcho-capitalist]] economist [[David D. Friedman|David Friedman]] has written a lengthy and controversial study of marriage as a market transaction (the market for husbands and wives).<ref> [http://www.best.com/~ddfr/Academic/Price_Theory/PThy_Chapter_21/PThy_Chap_21.html The Economics of Love and Marriage]</ref>
===Taxation===
Most countries use [[progressive tax]]es, in which the tax rate is higher for a taxpayer with a higher income.{{Fact|date=October 2007}} In some of these countries, spouses are allowed to average their incomes; this is advantageous to a married couple with disparate incomes. To compensate for this somewhat, many countries provide a ''higher'' [[tax bracket]] for the averaged income of a married couple. While income averaging might still benefit a married couple with a stay-at-home spouse, such averaging would cause a married couple with roughly equal personal incomes to pay more total tax than they would as two single persons. This is commonly called the [[marriage penalty]].
Moreover, when the rates applied by the tax code are not based on averaging the incomes, but rather on the ''sum'' of individuals' incomes, higher rates will definitely apply to each individual in a two-earner households in progressive tax systems. This is most often the case with high-income taxpayers and is another situation where some consider there to be a marriage penalty.
Conversely, when progressive tax is levied on the individual with no consideration for the partnership, dual-income couples fare much better than single-income couples with similar household incomes. The effect can be increased when the welfare system treats the same income as a shared income thereby denying welfare access to the non-earning spouse. Such systems apply in Australia and Canada, for example.
==Termination==
In most societies, the [[death]] of one of the partners terminates the marriage, and in monogamous societies this allows the other partner to remarry, though sometimes after a waiting or mourning period.
Many societies also provide for the termination of marriage through [[divorce]]. Marriages can also be [[annulment|annulled]] in some societies, where an authority declares that a marriage never happened. In either event the people concerned are free to remarry (or marry). After divorce, one spouse may have to pay [[alimony]].
Several cultures have practiced temporary and conditional marriages. Examples include the [[Celt]]ic practice of [[handfasting]] and fixed-term marriages in the Muslim community. Pre-Islamic Arabs practiced a form of temporary marriage that carries on today in the practice of [[Nikah Mut'ah]], a fixed-term marriage contract. [[Muslim controversies related to Nikah Mut'ah]] have resulted in the practice being confined mostly to [[Shi'a Islam|Shi'ite]] communities.
==Contemporary views on marriage==
===Criticisms===
A famous early critique of marriage can be found in [[Plato's Republic]], which recommends of group marriage. Commentators have often been critical of individual local practices and traditions, often leading to changes. Examples include the early [[Catholic Church]]'s efforts to eliminate [[concubinage]] and [[temporary marriage]], the [[Protestant]] acceptance of [[divorce]], the abolition in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries of laws against inter-faith and inter-race marriages in western countries, etc.
Many contemporary attitudes have developed from a [[feminism|feminist]] viewpoint and suggest that modern marriage can be particularly disadvantageous to women economically and socially. Conversely, [[father's rights]] advocates claim that there is a continuing societal bias towards women as custodial parents in the face of "no-fault" [[divorce]] laws and is unjust to men when marriages fail. Some groups, such as the [[Independent Women's Forum]], accept this criticism, but argue that they should not be leveled against marriage itself, but dealt with independently.{{Fact|date=June 2008}}
===Controversial views===
Some views about marriage are controversial. Advocates of same-sex rights criticize the exclusion of homosexual relationships from legal and social recognition and the rights and obligations it provides. At the same time advocates of the [[traditional marriage movement]] oppose any attempt to define marriage to include anything other than the union of one man and one woman, claiming that to do so would "deprive the term of its fundamental and defining meaning."<ref>{{cite press release|title=Same-Sex Marriage|publisher=Rabbinical Council of America|date=[[2004-03-30]]|url=http://www.rabbis.org/news/article.cfm?id=100556}}</ref>
==See also==
{{wikiquote}}
*[[Types of marriages]]
*[[Age at first marriage]]
*[[List of people with longest marriages]]
*[[Age disparity in sexual relationships]]
===Related concepts===
<!--If you provide a short description of some of these, do it for all. Otherwise, eliminate the descriptions altogether.-->
<!--I see no reason why this list should not include links that are otherwse buried in the text.-->
*[[Adultery]] - consensual sexual intercourse between a married person and a partner other than the lawful spouse.
*[[Alimony]] - obligation of support.
*[[Annulment]] - legal procedure for declaring a marriage null and void.
*[[Betrothal]] - formal state of engagement to be married.
*[[Brideservice]]
*[[Child marriage]]
*[[Christian views of marriage]] - views of Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, and others
*[[Civil marriage]] - marriages which are constituted by a government official and not a religious congregation.
*[[Divorce]] - ending of a marriage.
*[[Engagement]]
*[[Family therapy]]/[[Relationship counseling]]
*[[Free love]] - a social movement opposed to marriage
*[[Head and Master laws]]
*[[Husband]]/[[Wife]]
*[[Human sexuality]]
*[[Human sexual behavior]]
*[[Inheritance]]
*[[Islamic marital jurisprudence]]
*[[Marriage (conflict)]]
*[[Marriage gap]]
*[[Marriage in the United States]]
*[[Marriage law]]
*[[Marriage strike]] - Increasing ambivalence toward marriage in American men.
*[[Marriageable age]]
*[[Mail-order bride]]
*[[Monogamy]]/[[Polygamy]]
*[[Nikah urfi]]
*[[Legal separation|Separation]] - a step in the ending of a marriage.
*[[Wedding]]
*[[Wedding ring]]
*[[Living apart together]]
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
==Further reading==
{{Wiktionary|marriage}}
{{Commonscat}}
*[http://www.antidowry.com/issues4.htm Remarriage]
*{{cite web|url=http://lawfam.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/4/2/154|title=RADICAL PRINCIPLES AND THE LEGAL INSTITUTION OF MARRIAGE: DOMESTIC RELATIONS LAW AND SOCIAL DEMOCRACY IN SWEDEN -- BRADLEY 4 (2): 154 -- International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family|accessdate=2007-06-13|format=|work=}}
*{{cite web|url=http://lawfam.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/19/1/47|title=Legal Regulation of Marital Relations: An Historical and Comparative Approach -- Gautier 19 (1): 47 -- International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family|accessdate=2007-06-13|format=|work=}}
* {{cite book|title=For Better, for Worse: British Marriages, 1600 to the Present|last=Gillis|first=John R.|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=019503614X|date=1985|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=t3kiLAQxrnMC}}
*[http://www.in-mind.org/issue-4/forever-and-a-day-or-just-one-night.html 'Forever and a Day' or 'Just One Night'?] On Adaptive Functions of Long-Term and Short-Term Romantic Relationships
*[http://marriage.rutgers.edu/publicat.htm The National Marriage Project] at [[Rutgers University]]
*[http://www.ualberta.ca/~di/csh/csh12/Boswell.html A review] of John Boswell's ''Same-Sex Unions in Pre-Modern Europe''
*[http://www.africanholocaust.net/news_ah/africanmarriageritual.html African Marriage Rituals]
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/inourtime/inourtime_20020321.shtml "Marriage – its various forms and the role of the State"] on [[BBC Radio 4]]’s [[In Our Time (BBC Radio 4)|''In Our Time'']] featuring Janet Soskice, Frederik Pedersen and Christina Hardyment
<br>
{{Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights}}
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[[Category:Family]]
[[Category:Marriage|*]]
[[Category:Mating]]
[[Category:Demography]]
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[[et:Abiellumine]]
[[el:Γάμος]]
[[es:Matrimonio]]
[[eo:Nupto]]
[[fa:ازدواج]]
[[fr:Mariage]]
[[gd:Banais]]
[[zh-classical:夫妻]]
[[ko:혼인]]
[[hr:Brak]]
[[id:Pernikahan]]
[[is:Hjónaband]]
[[it:Matrimonio]]
[[he:נישואים]]
[[ka:ქორწინება]]
[[la:Matrimonium]]
[[lv:Laulība]]
[[lt:Santuoka]]
[[hu:Házasság]]
[[mk:Брак]]
[[ml:വിവാഹം]]
[[mzn:Hemraver]]
[[nl:Huwelijk]]
[[ja:結婚]]
[[no:Ekteskap]]
[[nn:Ekteskap]]
[[nrm:Neuche]]
[[oc:Matrimòni]]
[[pl:Małżeństwo]]
[[pt:Casamento]]
[[qu:Kasarakuy]]
[[ru:Брачный союз]]
[[sq:Martesa]]
[[simple:Marriage]]
[[sl:Poroka]]
[[sr:Брак]]
[[fi:Avioliitto]]
[[sv:Äktenskap]]
[[tl:Kasal (institusyon)]]
[[tt:Öylänü]]
[[te:పెళ్ళి]]
[[th:การสมรส]]
[[vi:Hôn nhân]]
[[tr:Evlilik]]
[[uk:Шлюб]]
[[wa:Mariaedje]]
[[yi:אישית]]
[[zh:婚姻]]