Sociology of Marriage: Exploring Diverse Definitions and Practices

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of the evolving definition of marriage in contemporary society. It begins by tracing the historical and traditional perspectives on marriage, emphasizing the legal and religious aspects of a union between a man and a woman. The essay then delves into the changing dynamics of marriage, exploring the rise of same-sex marriage and its legal and social acceptance in various countries, including the United States, Canada, and Australia. Furthermore, the essay discusses the concept of polygamy, examining its legal status and prevalence in different cultures, with a focus on the United States and Muslim-majority countries. The author offers a personal perspective on marriage as a lifelong commitment based on love, understanding, and social recognition. The essay concludes by highlighting the importance of adaptability and mutual understanding in maintaining successful marital relationships, irrespective of the type of marriage.

Running head: MARRIAGES IN TODAY’S WORLD
MARRIAGES IN TODAY’S WORLD
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Marriage is a legally acknowledged union between two people to declare them as
partners. In the earlier time, marriages used to be considered as a sacred ritual performed with
the blessings of god and family members of both the bride and groom. It was legal
permission for two opposite gender people to live together as partners in society (Chereji and
King 2015). But, nowadays, the concept of marriage has been changed with the constant
development of society and also due to the change in the mentality of the youth about
marriages and living together. In today’s world, people do not seek or wait for permission
from god or family to live together. Therefore, the importance of marriage has lessened. The
aim of this study to identify factors influencing the different types of marriages in today’s
world.
In earlier times, a traditional form of marriage used to be considered as a civil
marriage between a man and woman that is religiously and legally approved (Johnson 2015).
In the present world, marriage between a man and a woman is still acknowledged as a public
institution to serve the common good. Through marriage, a couple offers to nature its most
desirable thing that is increasing the population by bringing children into the world. For the
society, the couple offers a child and a future member of the society who is going to be raised
under the care and love of both its mother and father. This will be absent in cases of the
same-sex couple. That is the reason many antagonists of equal marriage would like to state
and believe that the union in the name of marriage can still happen between a man and a
woman, which is not true. Marriage definition and viewpoint went through lots of good and
bad cases from which it can be seen that in today’s world, marriage is also about equal
marriage rather than the traditional form of civil marriage. Equal marriages have been evident
since the ancient ages. During the Egyptian and Mesopotamian era, societies used to
acknowledge the legality of same-sex marriage in their culture and society (Ahmed and Ryan
2016). This can be evident from the tomb of a gay couple holding hands embraced each other

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(Wen 2018). In Mesopotamia, two kings, Zimri-Lim of Mari and Hammurabi, had male
partners as their wives (East 2015). In the Akkadian literature, there exist various chants
favoring homosexual and heterosexual love.
Same-sex marriage is the exercise of marriage involving two men or between two
women. In some of the countries, traditional marriage often regulates by customs of a
particular country or caste, but for the validation of same-sex marriage, it has to be
recognized by the law of the country (Pistella et al. 2018). In earlier days, native Americans
did not observe the strict gender concept of male and female. They used to believe in three
genders, and the third one was called “two-spirit” people (Lang 2016). Therefore, marriage
between them was acceptable in the tribe. Historian John Boswell mentioned that the Roman
Catholic Church identified same-sex unions (Abrahamsen 2017). Canada was the first
country in America that declared the legitimacy of same-sex marriage with the enactment of
the Civil Marriage Act in 2005. In the case of Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, the
Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts declared the legality of same-sex marriage.
However, the USA used to possess an orthodox view about equal marriages, but, in 2015,
through the case of Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court of the United States stated that
marriage is considered as a fundamental right and this right must include same-sex couples
within its purview. The parliament of Australia changed the law of marriage after a mass
protest in 2017 and accepted the legality of equal marriage (McAllister and Snagovsky 2018).
Same-sex marriage declared as legal in Taiwan in May 2019. Though same-sex marital
relationship is not legal in India, one of the local courts of Haryana India recognized a lesbian
couple marriage (timesofindia.indiatimes.com and News, 2011). As per the latest report,
twenty-seven countries have legalized same-sex marriage.
Polygamy is the practice of marrying many women at a time by a man. It is legal in
58 sovereign states of the world, and most of them are Muslim countries. Polygamy today is

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recognized as the way of many marriages or unions at a time. In the United States, most of
the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was gentle to come to a
conclusion to ban polygamy (Rothera 2016). Joseph Smith, who was the Mormonism’s
founder, made good sides of polygamy the central aspect of his writing (Hales 2015). In the
case of Reynolds v. U.S. Federal Law prohibited polygamy as a mode of violation of
Constitutional rights. In English Law, registering more than one marriage at a time is illegal.
Under the Muslim Sunni and Shia law, polygamy is a legal concept (Al‐Hamdi and Schumm
2016). In earlier days, most of the Muslim majority countries used to support the marriage of
a man with more than one wife but at a time. As per the modern Muslim view, the practice of
polygamy is allowed but not recommended. In Libya, polygamy is allowed but in a restricted
form. In Indonesia, the rate of polygamy was 1% in 2018. Usually, polygamy has been a rare
case in South Asian Muslims. Polygamy is a rare scenario between people of the wealthy
class unless there is any case of infertility is involved.
In my opinion, marriage is a holy institution between two souls. It is a lifelong
journey irrespective of the fact that two people are traditional or same-sex couples. I
believe in the social recognition of a couple as partners. It is indeed necessary for a
lifelong relationship and legitimate upbringing of the future generation, be it a natural
child or an adopted one. However, at the end of the day, it is the love, bonding,
understanding, and maturity between two people in a marital relationship who has to
bear all the hardship and beautiful things that come with marriage.
It can be concluded from the above-mentioned passage that, marriage is not only
a one night’s fairytale, be it a traditional marriage or equal marriage. There are hard and
sweet phases that a couple has to withstand during their courtship. In modern days, an
ample number of uncompromising views exist in people about marriage. In this scenario,
to ensure the smooth paddling of the marriage vehicle, a couple has to work on their

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differences and need to make a bridge so they can reach out to each other in their
relationship whenever it is needed. Lastly, it is important to understand that every
marriage is different, and it is better to treat each and every case differently.

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