United States is the SI unit for the same s3x marriages in the current world. In spite of its new definition in current world, Marriage, as a key rite of passage has been in constant evolution since the creation of the universe. It all started in the Stone Age as a way of satisfying and controlling s3xual conduct as well as providing a structure for a child rearing. Ever since, the stated basic concept has taken many forms across different cultures all over the world. The idea of marriage as a s3xually exclusive, romantic union between one man and one woman has been undergoing some critical developments.
When did people start marrying?
The first recorded evidence of marriage contracts and ceremonies dates to 4,000 years ago, in Mesopotamia. In the ancient world, marriage served primarily as a means of preserving power, with kings and other members of the ruling class marrying off daughters to forge alliances, acquire land, and produce legitimate heirs. Even in the lower classes, women had little say over whom they married. The purpose of marriage was the production of heirs, as implied by the Latin word matrimonium, which is derived frommater (mother).
When did the church get involved?
In ancient Rome, marriage was a civil affair governed by imperial law. But when the empire collapsed, in the 5th century, church courts took over and elevated marriage to a holy union. As the church’s power grew through the middle Ages, so did its influence over marriage. In 1215, marriage was declared one of the church’s seven sacraments, alongside rites like baptism and penance. But it was only in the 16th century that the church decreed that weddings be performed in public, by a priest, and before witnesses.
What role did love play?
Marriage as tool of preserving power, with kings and other members of the ruling class, Love was never a reason to get married in the ancient world. Marriage was considered too serious a matter to be based on such a fragile emotion. Love and marriage were once widely regarded as incompatible with one another. A Roman politician was expelled from the Senate in the 2nd century B.C. for kissing his wife in public — behavior the essayist Plutarch condemned as “disgraceful.” In the 12th and 13th centuries, the European aristocracy viewed extramarital affairs as the highest form of romance, untainted by the gritty realities of daily life. And as late as the 18th century, the French philosopher Montesquieu wrote that any man who was in love with his wife was probably too dull to be loved by another woman.
When did romance enter the picture?
During late 17th and 18th Centuries a new meaning was given to Marriage institution. Researchers had it that the idea of life was about the pursuit of happiness and hence marriage acquired new meaning as source of love rather than wealth or status in the society. This trend was augmented by the Industrial Revolution and the growth of the middle class in the 19th century, which enabled young men to select a spouse and pay for a wedding, regardless of parental approval. As people took more control of their love lives, they began to demand the right to end unhappy unions. The Emergence of Divorce was born then.
20th Century, then life happened
Marriage took a very drastic turn during 20th Century. Law and custom enforced the subordination of wives to husbands. The Emergence of women rights activism group gained strength and demanded being regarded as husbands’ equal rather than their property. At the same time, the rise of effective contraception fundamentally transformed marriage: Couples could choose how many children to have, and even to have no children at all. If they were unhappy with each other, they could divorce — and nearly half of all couples did. Marriage had become primarily a personal contract between two equals seeking love, stability, and happiness. This new definition opened the door to gays and lesbians claiming a right to be married, too. “We now fit under the Western philosophy of marriage,” said E.J. Graff, a lesbian and the author of what is Marriage For?
Gay ‘marriage’ in medieval Europe
it would be would be so wrong to think same sex unions are recent invention. Until the 13th century, male-bonding ceremonies were common in churches across the Mediterranean. Apart from the couples’ gender, these events were almost indistinguishable from other marriages of the era. Twelfth-century liturgies for same-sex unions — also known as “spiritual brotherhoods” — included the recital of marriage prayers, the joining of hands at the altar, and a ceremonial kiss. Some historians believe these unions were merely a way to seal alliances and business deals. But Eric Berkowitz, author of Sex and Punishment, says it is “difficult to believe that these rituals did not contemplate erotic contact. In fact, it was the sex between the men involved that later caused same-sex unions to be banned.”
Gay marriage in today’s world
A growing number of counties have granted recognition to same sex marriages. USA amongst other many countries currently has national laws allowing gays and lesbians to marry.
On May 22, 2015, Catholic-majority Ireland became the first country to legalize same-sex marriage through a popular referendum. More than six-in-ten Irish voters (62%) voted “yes” to amend the Constitution of Ireland to say that “marriage may be contracted in accordance with law by two persons without distinction as to their sex.”
While some Catholic Church leaders opposed the change, Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin wrote a commentary in The Irish Times newspaper before the referendum, saying that he would not tell people how to vote and that he had “no wish to stuff my religious views down other people’s throats.” Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny supported the “yes” campaign.
It’s eminent that there are traces of same sex marriages in Africa. Here, In Kenya, a renowned Author, Binyavanga Wainaina penned down an article claiming to be a gay which was received by Kenyans with mixed reaction.
Kenyan Government has come out strongly to condemn the same sex marriages and as young people continue to come out their “closets”, only Time and perhaps a divine intervention will give a long lasting solution
