Marriage

===Restrictions===
Marriage is an institution that is historically filled with restrictions. From age, to race, to social status, to [[consanguinity]], to gender, restrictions are placed on marriage by society for reasons of benefiting the children, passing on healthy genes, maintaining cultural values, or because of [[prejudice]] and [[fear]]. Almost all cultures that recognize marriage also recognize [[adultery]] as a violation of the terms of marriage.<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica adultery">[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/6618/adultery "Adultery"] ''Encyclopædia Britannica''</ref>

====Age====
Most jurisdictions set a [[marriageable age|minimum age for marriage]]; that is, a person must attain a certain age to be legally allowed to marry. This age may depend on circumstances, for instance exceptions from the general rule may be permitted if the parents of a young person express their consent and/or if a court decides that said marriage is in the best interest of the young person (often this applies in cases where a girl is pregnant). Although most age restrictions are in place in order to prevent children from being forced into marriages, especially to much older partners – marriages which can have negative education and health related consequences, and lead to [[child sexual abuse]] and other forms of violence<ref>[https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/06/14/q-child-marriage-and-violations-girls-rights Q & A: Child Marriage and Violations of Girls' Rights | Human Rights Watch]. Hrw.org (14 June 2013). Retrieved on 5 September 2013.</ref> – such [[child marriage]]s remain common in parts of the world. According to the UN, child marriages are most common in rural [[sub-Saharan Africa]] and [[South Asia]]. The ten countries with the highest rates of child marriage are: [[Niger]] (75%), Chad, Central African Republic, Bangladesh, Guinea, Mozambique, Mali, Burkina Faso, South Sudan, and Malawi.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130314073138/http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2013/child_marriage_20130307/en/ WHO | Child marriages: 39,000 every day]. Who.int (7 March 2013). Retrieved on 6 April 2013.</ref>

====Kinship====
{{Main|Cousin marriage}}
{{See also|Coefficient of relationship}}
To prohibit incest and eugenic reasons, marriage laws have set restrictions for relatives to marry. Direct blood relatives are usually prohibited to marry, while for branch line relatives, laws are wary.<ref>{{Cite web|title=State Variations on American Marriage Prohibitions|url=https://www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/arts/anthropology/tutor/marriage/usa-ncst.html|access-date=2021-07-10|website=www.umanitoba.ca}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hafen|first=Bruce C.|date=1983|title=The Constitutional Status of Marriage, Kinship, and Sexual Privacy: Balancing the Individual and Social Interests|journal=Michigan Law Review|volume=81|issue=3|pages=463–574|doi=10.2307/1288509|jstor=1288509|issn=0026-2234|url=https://repository.law.umich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4662&context=mlr }}</ref>

Kinship relations through marriage is also called "affinity," relationships that arise in one's group of origin, can also be called one's descent group. Some cultures in kinship relationships may be considered to extend out to those who they have economic or political relationships with; or other forms of social connections. Within some cultures they may lead you back to gods<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Campagno|first=Marcelo|date=2014-08-18|title=Patronage and Other Logics of Social Organization in Ancient Egypt during the IIIrd Millennium bce|journal=Journal of Egyptian History|volume=7|issue=1|pages=1–33|doi=10.1163/18741665-12340012|hdl=11336/33193 |issn=1874-1657|hdl-access=free}}</ref> or animal ancestors (totems). This can be conceived of on a more or less literal basis.

====Race====
[[File:US miscegenation.svg|thumb|upright=1.8|U.S States, by the date of repeal of anti-miscegenation laws:
{{legend|#d3d3d3|No laws passed}}
{{legend|#5b9e39|Repealed before 1887}}
{{legend|#f3ee66|Repealed between 1948 and 1967}}
{{legend|#cc2f2f|Overturned on 12 June 1967}}]]
{{Main|Interracial marriage}}
Laws banning "race-mixing" were enforced in certain North American jurisdictions from 1691<ref name="Frank W Sweet">{{Cite journal
 |url=http://www.backintyme.com/essay050101.htm
 |title=The Invention of the Color Line: 1691—Essays on the Color Line and the One-Drop Rule
 |author=Frank W Sweet
 |publisher=Backentyme Essays
 |date=1 January 2005
 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070409160923/http://backintyme.com/essay050101.htm
 |archive-date=9 April 2007
}}</ref> until 1967, in [[Nazi Germany]] (the [[Nuremberg Laws]]) from 1935 until 1945, and in South Africa during most part of the [[apartheid]] era (1949–1985). All these laws primarily banned marriage between persons of different racially or ethnically defined groups, which was termed "amalgamation" or "miscegenation" in the U.S. The laws in Nazi Germany and many of the U.S. states, as well as South Africa, also banned sexual relations between such individuals.

In the United States, laws in some but not all of the states prohibited the marriage of whites and blacks, and in many states also the intermarriage of whites with [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] or [[Asian Americans|Asians]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Karthikeyan|first=Hrishi |author2=Chin, Gabriel|year=2002|title=Preserving Racial Identity: Population Patterns and the Application of Anti-Miscegenation Statutes to Asian Americans, 1910–1950|journal=Asian Law Journal|volume=9|issue=1|ssrn=283998}}</ref> In the U.S., such laws were known as [[anti-miscegenation laws]]. From 1913 until 1948, 30 out of the then 48 states enforced such laws.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lovingday.org/map.htm|title=Where were Interracial Couples Illegal?|website=LovingDay|access-date=5 August 2013|archive-date=31 December 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071231145639/http://www.lovingday.org/map.htm}}</ref> Although an "Anti-Miscegenation Amendment" to the [[United States Constitution]] was proposed in 1871, in 1912–1913, and in 1928,<ref>[http://lovingday.org/courtroom.htm "Courtroom History"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071231035205/http://www.lovingday.org/courtroom.htm |date=31 December 2007 }} Lovingday.org Retrieved 28 June 2007</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Stein|first=Edward|year=2004|title=Past and present proposed amendments to the United States constitution regarding marriage|journal=Washington University Law Quarterly|volume=82|issue=3|ssrn=576181}}</ref> no nationwide law against racially mixed marriages was ever enacted. In 1967, the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] unanimously ruled in ''[[Loving v. Virginia]]'' that anti-miscegenation laws are [[Constitutionality|unconstitutional]]. With this ruling, these laws were no longer in effect in the remaining 16 states that still had them.

The Nazi ban on interracial marriage and interracial sex was enacted in September 1935 as part of the [[Nuremberg Laws]], the ''Gesetz zum Schutze des deutschen Blutes und der deutschen Ehre'' (The Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honour). The Nuremberg Laws classified [[Judaism|Jews]] as a race and forbade marriage and extramarital sexual relations at first with people of Jewish descent, but was later ended to the "Gypsies, Negroes or their bastard offspring" and people of "German or related blood".<ref name="Burleigh1991">{{cite book | author = Michael Burleigh | title = The Racial State: Germany 1933–1945 | url = https://archive.org/details/racialstate00mich | url-access = registration | date = 7 November 1991 | publisher = Cambridge University Press | isbn = 978-0-521-39802-2 | page = [https://archive.org/details/racialstate00mich/page/49 49]}}</ref> Such relations were marked as ''[[Rassenschande]]'' (lit. "race-disgrace") and could be punished by imprisonment (usually followed by deportation to a concentration camp) and even by death.

South Africa under apartheid also banned interracial marriage. The [[Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act, 1949]] prohibited marriage between persons of different races, and the [[Immorality Act]] of 1950 made [[Miscegenation|sexual relations with a person of a different race]] a [[crime]].

====Sex====
[[File:World marriage-equality laws.svg|thumb|right|upright=1.8|
{{legend|#002255|Marriage open to same-sex couples (rings: individual cases)}}
{{legend|#71C837|Legislation or binding domestic court ruling establishing same-sex marriage, but marriage is not yet provided for}}
{{legend|#9900CC|Same-sex marriage recognized when performed in certain other jurisdictions, and accorded greater rights than local same-sex unions (if any)}}
{{legend|#0066FF|Civil unions or domestic partnerships}}
{{legend|#9FCFFF|Limited legal recognition (registered cohabitation)}}
{{legend striped|#99CCFF|#DCDCDC|Local certification without legal force|up=yes}}
{{legend|#CCAAFF|Limited recognition of marriage performed in certain other jurisdictions (residency rights for spouses)}}
{{legend|#C6E9AF|Country subject to an international court ruling to recognize same-sex marriage}}
{{legend|#CCCCCC|Same-sex unions not legally recognized}}]]
{{Main|Same-sex marriage}}
Same-sex marriage is legally performed and recognized in [[Same-sex marriage in Andorra|Andorra]], [[Argentina]], [[Same-sex marriage in Australia|Australia]], [[Same-sex marriage in Austria|Austria]], [[Same-sex marriage in Belgium|Belgium]], [[Same-sex marriage in Brazil|Brazil]], [[Same-sex marriage in Canada|Canada]], [[Same-sex marriage in Chile|Chile]], [[Same-sex marriage in Colombia|Colombia]], [[Same-sex marriage in Costa Rica|Costa Rica]], [[Same-sex marriage in Cuba|Cuba]], [[Same-sex marriage in Denmark|Denmark]], [[Same-sex marriage in Ecuador|Ecuador]], [[Same-sex marriage in Finland|Finland]], [[Same-sex marriage in France|France]], [[Same-sex marriage in Germany|Germany]], [[Same-sex marriage in Iceland|Iceland]], [[Same-sex marriage in the Republic of Ireland|Ireland]], [[Same-sex marriage in Luxembourg|Luxembourg]], [[Same-sex marriage in Malta|Malta]], [[Same-sex marriage in Mexico|Mexico]], the [[Same-sex marriage in the Netherlands|Netherlands]],{{efn|name=netherlands|text=Same-sex marriage is performed and recognized by law in [[Same-sex marriage in the Netherlands|the Netherlands proper]], including [[Same-sex marriage in Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba|Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba]]. Marriages entered into there have minimal recognition in [[Same-sex marriage in Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten|Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten]].}} [[Same-sex marriage in New Zealand|New Zealand]],{{efn|name=nz|text=Same-sex marriage is performed and recognized by law in [[New Zealand|New Zealand proper]], but not in [[LGBT rights in Tokelau|Tokelau]], the [[LGBT rights in the Cook Islands|Cook Islands]] or [[LGBT rights in Niue|Niue]], which together make up the [[Realm of New Zealand]].}} [[Same-sex marriage in Norway|Norway]], [[Same-sex marriage in Portugal|Portugal]], [[Same-sex marriage in Slovenia|Slovenia]], [[Same-sex marriage in South Africa|South Africa]], [[Same-sex marriage in Spain|Spain]], [[Same-sex marriage in Sweden|Sweden]], [[Same-sex marriage in Switzerland|Switzerland]], [[Same-sex marriage in Taiwan|Taiwan]], the [[Same-sex marriage in the United Kingdom|United Kingdom]],{{efn|name=uk|text= Except the British Overseas Territories of [[LGBT rights in Anguilla|Anguilla]], the [[LGBT rights in the British Virgin Islands|British Virgin Islands]], the [[LGBT rights in the Cayman Islands|Cayman Islands]], [[LGBT rights in Montserrat|Montserrat]] and the [[LGBT rights in the Turks and Caicos Islands|Turks and Caicos Islands]].|group=}} the [[Same-sex marriage in the United States|United States]],{{efn|name=usa|text=Same-sex marriage is performed and recognized by law in all [[Same-sex marriage law in the United States by state|fifty states]] and the [[Same-sex marriage in the District of Columbia|District of Columbia]], all territories except [[LGBT rights in American Samoa|American Samoa]], and in [[Same-sex marriage in tribal nations in the United States|some tribal nations]].}} and [[Same-sex marriage in Uruguay|Uruguay]]. [[Recognition of same-sex unions in Israel|Israel]] recognizes same-sex marriages entered into abroad as full marriages.

The introduction of same-sex marriage has varied by jurisdiction, being variously accomplished through legislative change to [[marriage law]], a court ruling based on constitutional guarantees of equality, or by direct popular vote (via [[ballot initiative]] or [[referendum]]). The recognition of same-sex marriage is considered to be a [[human rights|human right]] and a [[civil rights|civil right]] as well as a political, social, and religious issue.<ref>{{multiref2 | {{cite web|title=Inter-American Human Rights Court backs same-sex marriage|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-42633891|publisher=[[BBC]]|date=January 10, 2018|access-date=April 6, 2018}} | {{cite web|title=Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. ___ (2015)|url=https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/576/14-556/opinion3.html|publisher=[[Justia]]|date=June 26, 2015|access-date=April 6, 2018}} |  {{cite news|last=Smith|first=Susan K.|title=Marriage a Civil Right, not Sacred Rite|url=http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/panelists/susan_k_smith/2009/07/marriage_a_civil_right_not_sacred_rite.html|access-date=20 September 2012|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=30 July 2009|archive-date=3 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121003083717/http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/panelists/susan_k_smith/2009/07/marriage_a_civil_right_not_sacred_rite.html}} | {{cite web|title=Decision in Perry v. Schwarzenegger|url=https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov/cand/09cv2292/files/09cv2292-ORDER.pdf|access-date=6 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130316191210/https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov/cand/09cv2292/files/09cv2292-ORDER.pdf|archive-date=16 March 2013}} }}</ref> The most prominent supporters of same-sex marriage are human rights and civil rights organizations as well as the medical and scientific communities, while the most prominent opponents are religious groups. Various faith communities around the world support same-sex marriage, while many religious groups oppose it. [[Same-sex marriage#Public opinion|Polls consistently show]] continually rising support for the recognition of same-sex marriage in all developed democracies and in some developing democracies.<ref>{{multiref2 | {{cite web|url=http://news.gallup.com/poll/234866/two-three-americans-support-sex-marriage.aspx|title=Two in Three Americans Support Same-Sex Marriage|website=[[Gallup (company)|Gallup]]|date=May 23, 2018}} | {{cite web|title=For several years a majority of Australians have supported marriage equality|url=http://www.australianmarriageequality.org/who-supports-equality/a-majority-of-australians-support-marriage-equality/|publisher=Australian Marriage Equality Incorporated|access-date=22 May 2015}} | {{cite web|title=Support for Same-Sex Marriage in Latin America|url=http://www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/insights/I0844.enrevised.pdf|publisher=[[Vanderbilt University]]|access-date=25 September 2012}} }}</ref>

The establishment of recognition in law for the marriages of same-sex couples is one of the most prominent objectives of the [[LGBT rights]] movement.

====Number of spouses====
[[File:Legality of polygamy.svg|thumb|400px
 | <div style="margin:0 0.5em;">
{{legend|#56b4e9|Polygamy is legal}}
{{legend|#009e73|Polygamy is legal only for Muslims}}
{{legend|#0072b2|Polygamy is legal in some regions (Indonesia)}}
{{legend|#d55e00|Polygamy is illegal, but practice is not criminalised}}
{{legend|#000000|Polygamy is illegal and practice criminalised}}
{{legend|#e0e0e0|Legal status unknown}} </div>
{{Bulleted list |style=margin:0.5em 0.5em 0.25em;border-top:1px solid#aaa;font-size:94%; |item_style=line-height:1.3em;
| In India, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore polygamy is only legal for [[Muslim]]s.
| In Nigeria and South Africa, polygamous marriages under customary law and for Muslims are legally recognized.
| In Mauritius, polygamous unions have no legal recognition. Muslim men may, however, "marry" up to four women, but they do not have the legal status of&nbsp;wives.
}}]]{{Main|Legality of polygamy}}

Polygyny is widely practiced in mostly [[Muslim]] and African countries.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.waleg.com/archives/001129.html |title=Polygamy in Muslim countries |publisher=Waleg.com |date=26 June 2005 |access-date=4 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901020418/http://www.waleg.com/archives/001129.html |archive-date=1 September 2013  }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.wehaitians.com/polygamy%20practiced%20in%20secrecy%20follows%20africans%20to%20new%20york%20city.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080720144224/http://www.wehaitians.com/polygamy%20practiced%20in%20secrecy%20follows%20africans%20to%20new%20york%20city.html |archive-date=20 July 2008 |title=Polygamy, Practiced in Secrecy, Follows Africans to New York City |newspaper=The New York Times|date= 25 March 2007|author=Berstein, Nina}}</ref> In the Middle Eastern region, Israel, Turkey and [[Polygamy in Tunisia|Tunisia]] are notable exceptions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.law.emory.edu/ifl/legal/tunisia.htm |title=Tunisia: Notable Features: Polygamy |publisher=Law.emory.edu }}</ref>

In most other jurisdictions, polygamy is illegal. For example, In the United States, polygamy is illegal in all [[List of states and territories of the United States|50 states]].<ref name="quietly">{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90857818|title=Some Muslims in U.S. Quietly Engage in Polygamy|publisher=[[National Public Radio]]: [[All Things Considered]]|date=27 May 2008|author=Hagerty, Barbara Bradley }}</ref>

In the late-19th century, citizens of the self-governing territory of what is present-day [[Utah]] were forced by the United States federal government to abandon the practice of [[polygamy]] through the vigorous enforcement of several [[Act of Congress|Acts of Congress]], and eventually complied. [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] formally abolished the practice in 1890, in a document labeled '[[1890 Manifesto|The Manifesto]]' (see [[Latter Day Saint polygamy in the late-19th century]]).<ref>{{Cite book|first=Edward Leo |last=Lyman |contribution=Statehood for Utah |url=http://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/s/STATEHOOD.html |editor-last=Powell |editor-first=Allan Kent |year=1994 |title=Utah History Encyclopedia |location=Salt Lake City, Utah |publisher=[[University of Utah Press]] |isbn=978-0-87480-425-6 |oclc=30473917   |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131101131036/http://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/s/STATEHOOD.html |archive-date=1 November 2013 }}</ref> Among [[Islam in the United States|American Muslims]], a small minority of around 50,000 to 100,000 people are estimated to live in families with a husband maintaining an illegal polygamous relationship.<ref name=quietly/>

Several countries such as India and Sri Lanka,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://genderindex.org/country/sri-lanka |title=Sri Lanka: Family Code |publisher=Genderindex.org  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101027130820/http://genderindex.org/country/sri-lanka |archive-date=27 October 2010 }}</ref> permit only their Islamic citizens to practice polygamy. Some Indians have converted to [[Islam]] in order to bypass such legal restrictions.<ref>See [[Polygyny in India|Polygamy in India]]</ref> Predominantly Christian nations usually do not allow [[Polygamy|polygamous unions]], with a handful of exceptions being the [[Polygamy in the Republic of the Congo|Republic of the Congo]], Uganda, and [[Polygamy in Zambia|Zambia]].