Marriage & Family Law
History & Geography
By Molly Kalafut
As a married woman and genealogist I find marriage, adoption, divorce and annulment law very interesting. The methods and meanings of marriage have shifted and changed throughout time and cultures - it's fascinating. How people marry or don't is tied into many things; including language, politics and religion.
Marriage Introduction
This gives a detailed description of many types of marriage; monogamy (3 types), cross cousin (3 types), group marriage, levirate, parallel cousin, polyandry (3 types) and polygyny.
Family & Marriage Language Around The World
What words a language has for kinship, marriage and relationship bonds tells interesting things about what importance and respect is placed on blood, marriage, birth order and age.
Divorce Law History
Describes the laws - both civil and religious - involved in dissolving marriage contracts.
Same-Sex Marriage Law History
Describes the status of same-sex marriage and domestic/registered partnerships around the globe in 30+ countries, from Argentina to Zimbabwe.
Interracial Marriage Law History (Coming)
Describes the status of inter-racial marriages country by country. While most countries allow marriages between different races, there are still some that have prohibitions against it. The section will examine the history of changes in marriage law for this subject.
Interfaith Marriage Law History (Coming)
Many countries have laws or prohibitions against marriages between couples of differing religions. While some are lax or rarely enforced, others are strictly upheld and many different parts of the world have very different ideas on what 'proof' of religion should be.
Interfamily Marriage Law History (Coming)
Countries, states and provinces all have fascinatingly different laws for what blood relationships are allowed to intermarry. What is forbidden by some places is actually encouraged in others! This will examine some of the laws in places, legislation news and reasons behind the differences.
Age Marriage Law History (Coming)
Even within one country, permission to marry varies by age, gender and who is allowed to give consent. This section will look at the laws in different places of the world.