Conjugal ties between two people are part of human cultures and there are many types of marriage beyond civil and religious. Here we show you.
Marriage is a social institution present in many cultures, arranged through certain rites, in order to establish and maintain a community of life and interests. To give you an idea of the number of these unions that happen annually, in the United States in 2019 there were 16.3 marriages per 1,000 adult women.
The marriage union establishes between spouses a series of rights and obligations that vary considerably between countries, since, being a social construct, it depends entirely on the legislation and beliefs of the region in which it is executed. As you can imagine, this can be a great reason for international conflict, because defining where rights begin and tradition ends is a complex task to say the least.
In any case, this type of union is increasingly stigmatized in various sectors of society, as it usually presents a series of “traditional” connotations that do not quite match some ideas. If in 1970 68.8% of women between 15 and 49 years old were married, it is estimated thatin 2030 the figure will hardly reach 63%.
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How many types of marriage are there?
In general, we only distinguish 2 types of marriage at the legal level in Western societies: civil and religious. In any case, beyond these constructs, there are a number of marital unions that differ in concept, freedoms and even number of involved. Based on various parameters, we show you the 10 types of marriage. Don’t miss it.
1. Classic Types of Marriage
We start with the simplest, that is, differentiating a civil marriage from a religious one.
1.1 Civil marriage
It is the type of marriage that is contracted, formalized and registered with the civil authorities (such as the civil registry, judges and the public administration) and not based on the dogmas and beliefs of a religion, whatever it may be. From a practical point of view it functions as a mere contractand, as such, can be dissolved whenever desired, always appealing to individual freedom.
1.2 Religious marriage
From a purely legal point of view, a civil marriage and a religious marriage are the same. Like marriage only before the law, a religious marriage, after the relevant celebration based on ideological canons, must also be presented before a court or town hall to communicate the union made.
In any case, religious marriage clearly differs from civil marriage in a key concept: it presents a series of iron connotations at the ideological level. Therefore, divorce after this type of union is much more complex, because a couple may be divorced in the eyes of the state, but not so for the religious community in which both are involved. In a civil wedding you marry before the law, and in a religious one, you present your union in the eyes of God (whatever its form).
2. Based on the number of people involved
Although most definitions in Spanish emphasize that a marriage occurs between two people (of the same sex or opposite), this does not have to be the case in all cases. With the following examples, it will be clear to you the variety in terms of number of people involved in this union.
2.1 Monogamy
One person marries another. It is the most common type of relationship worldwide, but not the only one. It is striking to know that there are two types of monogamy: serial and absolute. In the first, it is contemplated that a person remarries after the death of his partner or divorce, while in absolute monogamy marriage after the breakdown of a previous marriage is not legally conceived.
2.2 Polygyny
A man can marry more than one woman at a time. Institutionalized polygyny has been common throughout history, but for reasons of lineage, inheritance and ethics, it has been increasingly replaced by a classic monogamous marriage. Some of the few cultures that still practice polygyny are Islamic and Hindu.
Islamic or Sharia law stipulates that the same man may have up to 4 different legal wives and an unlimited number of concubines (harem). In practice this is very difficult, because, as a provider of the nuclear family, a man must support each and every one of his women. As a consequence, in this type of society polygyny is only conceived in the richest and wealthiest strata.
2.3 Polyandry
Analogous to polygyny (but much less common), in polyandrya woman may have 2 or more husbands. This type of marriage is reserved for relict and mostly indigenous societies, such as the Inuit of North America or the Awá of Brazil.
It is striking to know that this type of marriage has a clear utilitarian and instinctive component, since it has only been observed in societies where there is a large number of men compared to the proportion of women willing to marry. In addition, it is also conceived only in those cultures where a person of one ethnicity cannot relate to someone of the opposite sex of another. Both polygyny and polyandry are types of polygamy.
3. According to social constructs
Cambiamos de tercio completamente, pues en este caso, te presentamos los tipos de matrimonio que se conciben desde un punto de vista psicológico/social, dejando a un lado la legislación y etnias y culturas.
3.1 Matrimonio desvitalizado
Según estadísticas, este tipo de matrimonio representa al 40% de las parejas de la sociedad moderna. Se trata de una unión matrimonial meramente utilitaria en la que ambas partes se encuentran parcial o totalmente descontentas, donde hay una clara inestabilidad y tendencia al roce. Se podría decir que la pareja permanece unida por falta de alternativas.
3.2 Matrimonio financiero
It is estimated that it represents 11% of couples. It is a variant similar to the previous one, because both parties are highly unhappy with the routine they carry out with their spouses and communication is conspicuous by its absence. As those involved have common property and divorce involves a significant monetary outlay, the couple continues only for money.
3.3 Traditional marriage
It represents 10% of current couples. In this case, both participants are happy with the social constructof being married and certain daily aspects of the routine, but communication and sex life are a source of conflict. It is usually based on a religious union and, therefore, tends to be stable from the outside and usually lasts for a long time.
3.4 Balanced marriage
It represents 8% of couples. Those involved are relatively happy with their spouses and the sexual/emotional life is satisfactory. Its strong point is in communicationand problem solving, something that did not happen in the cases previously exposed. Unfortunately, this time the problem is usually financial.
3.5 Harmonious marriage
The perfect marriage in every way, as far as it goes. Communication is correct, the expression of affection is adequate, sex life works correctly and the relationship with extramarital elements is not diminished. If you can put a downside to this type of marriage is that it is usually too focused and its own dynamic, so the source of conflict can arise when a child enters the equation.
Summary
What do you think? Beyond civil and religious marriage, there is a whole world to explore, because unions between human beings are much more complex than what appears on paper or legislation. The marriage union depends on the number of involved, the dynamics of the couple that occurs, the reasons for marriage and, even, what is conceived at the social level within them.
Unfortunately, in certain regions marriage continues to be an element of oppression towards women, as it is well known that arranged marriage in minors is something vestigial but common in some parts of the world. Let us hope that, in future generations, marriage will be in absolutely all cases a choice product of affectivity between two (or more) people.
To the classic question “what do you do?” I always answer “basically I am a psychologist”. In fact, my academic training has revolved around the psychology of development, education and community, a field of study influenced my volunteer activities, as well as my first work experiences in personal services.
