Marriage, Also Called Matrimony or Wedlock, Is A Culturally Recognised Union Between People

Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally recognised union between people,
called spouses, that establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and
their children, and between them and their in-laws.[1] The definition of marriage varies around the
world, not only between cultures and between religions, but also throughout the history of any given
culture and religion. Over time, it has expanded and also constricted in terms of who and what is
encompassed. Typically, it is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually sexual, are
acknowledged or sanctioned. In some cultures, marriage is recommended or considered to be
compulsory before pursuing any sexual activity. When defined broadly, marriage is considered
a cultural universal. A marriage ceremony is called a wedding.
Individuals may marry for several reasons, including legal, social, libidinal, emotional,
financial, spiritual, and religious purposes. Whom they marry may be influenced by gender, socially
determined rules of incest, prescriptive marriage rules, parental choice and individual desire. In
some areas of the world, arranged marriage, child marriage, polygamy, and sometimes forced
marriage, may be practiced as a cultural tradition. Conversely, such practices may be outlawed and
penalized in parts of the world out of concerns regarding the infringement of women's rights or
children's rights (both female and male) or as a result of international law.[2] Around the world,
primarily in developed democracies, there has been a general trend towards ensuring equal
rights for women within marriage and legally recognizing the marriages of interfaith, interracial,
and same-sex couples. These trends coincide with the broader human rights movement.
Marriage can be recognized by a state, an organization, a religious authority, a tribal group, a
local community, or peers. It is often viewed as a contract. When a marriage is performed and
carried out by a government institution in accordance with the marriage laws of the jurisdiction,
without religious content, it is a civil marriage. Civil marriage recognizes and creates the rights and
obligations intrinsic to matrimony in the eyes of the state. When a marriage is performed with
religious content under the auspices of a religious institution, it is a religious marriage. Religious
marriage recognizes and creates the rights and obligations intrinsic to matrimony in the eyes of that
religion. Religious marriage is known variously as sacramental
marriage in Catholicism, nikah in Islam, nissuin in Judaism, and various other names in other faith
traditions, each with their own constraints as to what constitutes, and who can enter into, a valid
religious marriage.
Some countries do not recognize locally performed religious marriage on its own, and require a
separate civil marriage for official purposes. Conversely, civil marriage does not exist in some
countries governed by a religious legal system, such as Saudi Arabia, where marriages contracted
abroad might not be recognized if they were contracted contrary to Saudi interpretations of Islamic
religious law. In countries governed by a mixed secular-religious legal system, such
as Lebanon and Israel, locally performed civil marriage does not exist within the country, which
prevents interfaith and various other marriages that contradict religious laws from being entered into
in the country; however, civil marriages performed abroad may be recognized by the state even if
they conflict with religious laws. For example, in the case of recognition of marriage in Israel, this
includes recognition of not only interfaith civil marriages performed abroad, but also overseas same-
sex civil marriages.
The act of marriage usually creates normative or legal obligations between the individuals involved,
and any offspring they may produce or adopt. In terms of legal recognition, most sovereign states
and other jurisdictions limit marriage to opposite-sex couples and a diminishing number of these
permit polygyny, child marriages, and forced marriages. In modern times, a growing number of
countries, primarily developed democracies, have lifted bans on, and have established legal
recognition for, the marriages of interfaith, interracial, and same-sex couples. In some areas, child
marriages and polygamy may occur in spite of national laws against the practice.

Marriage, Also Called Matrimony or Wedlock, Is A Culturally Recognised Union Between People

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Marriage, Also Called Matrimony or Wedlock, Is A Culturally Recognised Union Between People

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Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally recognised union between people,

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