Marriage is acontract by which two people agree to live together as a couple for an extended period oftime or for the rest of their lives, often with the aim of starting afamily by having oradoptingchildren.[source?]
It can be done by signing a contract before a civil authority, orcivil marriage, or in a formalceremony officiated by a religious authority.[source?]
The most common form of marriage is a legally bindingheterosexual union. Some societies recognizepolygamy, which includes but not limited topolygyny andpolyandry. In polygyny, a man may be married to many women, while a woman may be married to many men. InSenegal, for example, nearly 47 percent of marriages are multiple.[1][bettersourceneeded]
The most common age to get married is between 25 to 30 years old. In theWestern world, marriage for love is common. In some other countries, relatives may plan anarranged marriage.[source?]
They want to avail of the many legal and financial benefits of marriage likesocial security, joint taxes, and health insurances.[2][bettersourceneeded]
There may be a few cases in which the goal is to pass on culture and heritage, or to ensure inheritance of assets.
Often there is also a spiritual part of marriage. In addition to the civil act (wanted by the state) there is sometimes a religious one. AChristian marriage ceremony usually happens in achurch. In a Christian marriage, both partners promise to love each other for the rest of their lives. There are certain restrictions on who can marry or be married; those closely related, like brothers and sisters usually cannot marry. This is usually to prevent genetic problems for the children.[source?]
Those marrying also have to be of a certain age to be able to marry. If that age is not specified it is usually theage of consent. InHinduism marriage is considered to be holy and is seen as a union of thegoddess "Laxmi" and thegod "Narayan".[source?]
Some countries and religious communities also permit the union of two partners of the same sex. This is generally known assame-sex marriage. In theNetherlands, the marriage law was changed to allow such unions, calledMarriage.[3]
Child marriage - usually when a child and an adult get married; in almost all cases, the child is not able to legally agree to the marriage, or the marriage is against the will of the child.
