It used to be that people newlyweds. They were married for economic reasons. They married who told them to marry. They had children right away, and many children. They stayed in their marriage, even if they were unhappy, abused or felt unfulfilled.
Marriage, as we think, originally was when a guy came out and captured a woman, usually from another tribe. Many primitive cultures had no formal ceremony. This led to the act of buying a bride money or some form of ownership. This contractual arrangement was often followed by a ceremony or celebration.
People were married without official recognition for a very long time. If a couple said they were married, while they were married. However, marriage has slowly changed from being a custom to be a law. This happened because the profane, the private marriage between two people was messy when people wanted to dissolve the relationship. the time the courts are not much to go on except the word of people.
The Catholic Church has been involved around 1215 and defined marriage as a sacrament. Even then, however, the rules of the church were blurred because people have used the "private agreement", which created problems in ecclesiastical tribunals. Thus, Protestants demanded that the wedding would not be a private institution. He became one that was made public during a ceremony, priest, witnesses, and parental consent. They also started recording births, deaths and marriages. In the 1500s, the governments and nation states began to review the legality of marriage
- 1525 -. Zurich necessary that marriage has two [1945020"témoinspieuxhonorablesetincontestables"] 1537 - Augsburg and Nuremberg fined or imprisoned those who had pre-nuptial sex
- 1563 -. Catholic Council of Trent declared that not every marriage performed by a priest was invalid
- 1753 - English Parliament passed a marriage law on the regulation involving licenses with signed and dated records and when and where public ceremonies and daylight could occur.
Marriage became a legal contract between a man and a woman.
common law marriage was the norm in most of the United States in its early history. In the 1870s it created a lot of anxiety and a marriage reform movement began. They called publicity, official ceremonies, licenses and registration. In the early 20th century, marriage in the United States was regulated by states. The rights system, licenses, requirements, and the witnesses that we are discussing today was born.
TODAY
Today, more and more couples are waiting until they are in their 30s to marry. Often they do not marry for economic reasons. They marry someone they love. They postpone having children, and they limit the number of children they have. If the marriage does not work, they have no guilt about getting a divorce.
FUTURE
There is a strong belief that in the future we will see less divorce because there will be fewer people marry. There will be less social stigma with couples who want to live in non-traditional settings. Gay marriage is accepted in more countries. Tom W. Smith, director of the General Social Survey The 21st century emerging American Family said "We are talking about profound changes"
Pew Research Center. "About four in ten Americans believe that marriage is on the rocks. no, not marriage. the institution of marriage ... Whatever one thinks of the future of the institution, there is no way around his hard contraction in the last half century. Some 72% of all adults in the United States were married in 1960. In 08, only 52% were ... most Americans now embrace the ideal of equality between spouses. the mid 20th century "Ozzie and Harriet" marriage between a husband and breadwinner of a household woman is now considered the preferred model of only 30% of the public; Some 62% say that weddings are best when husbands and wives have both jobs and share responsibility for the household and children "
Source :. Pew Research Center. The decline of marriage and the rise new families. Pewsocialtrends.org. 11/18/2010.