NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Religious aspects of marriage

In virtually all religions, marriage is a long-term union between two people and is established with ceremonies and rituals. The two people are most commonly a man and a woman, though many societies have permitted polygamous marriages, and same-sex marriage is now acknowledged in some places. The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view. ... A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value, which is prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. ... Image of a man on the Pioneer plaque sent to interstellar space A man is a male human adult, in contrast to an adult female, which is a woman. ... Image of a woman on the Pioneer plaque sent to outer space. ... Polygamy, literally many marriages in ancient Greek, is a marital practice in which a person has more than one spouse simultaneously (as opposed to monogamy where each person has a maximum of one spouse at any one time). ... Same-sex marriage is marriage between two people who are of the same characteristic sex. ...

Many religions have extensive teachings regarding marriage. Most Christian churches give some form of blessing to a marriage; the wedding ceremony typically includes some sort of pledge by the community to support the couple's relationship. In the Roman Catholic Church "Holy Matrimony" is considered to be one of the seven sacraments, in this case one that the spouses bestow upon each other in front of a priest and members of the community as witnesses. An argument for the institution of the sacrament of Matrimony by Christ Jesus himself, and its occasion, is advanced by Bernard Orchard in his article The Betrothal and Marriage of Mary to Joseph.[1] [2] [3] In the Eastern Orthodox church, it is one of the Mysteries, and is seen as an ordination and a martyrdom. In marriage, Christians see a picture of the relationship between Jesus Christ and His Church. In Judaism, marriage is so important that remaining unmarried is deemed unnatural. Islam also recommends marriage highly; among other things, it helps in the pursuit of spiritual perfection. The Bahá'í Faith sees marriage as a foundation of the structure of society, and considers it both a physical and spiritual bond that endures into the afterlife. Hinduism sees marriage as a sacred duty that entails both religious and social obligations. By contrast, Buddhism does not encourage or discourage marriage, although it does teach how one might live a happily married life and emphasizes that married vows are not to be taken slightly (see separate article for details). Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on the life, teachings, and actions of Jesus, the Christ, as recounted in the New Testament. ... Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people, with around 14 million followers (as of 2005 [1]). It is one of the first recorded monotheistic faiths and one of the oldest religious traditions still practiced today. ... Islam (Arabic: ; ( (helpÂ· info)), submission (to the will of God)) is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions, and the worlds second-largest religion. ... Seat of the Universal House of Justice, governing body of the BahÃ¡Ãs in Haifa Israel The BahÃ¡Ã Faith is an emerging global religion founded by BahÃ¡ullÃ¡h, a 19th century Persian exile. ... BahÃ¡Ã marriage is union of a man and a women. ... The afterlife (or life after death) is a generic term referring to a continuation of existence, typically spiritual and experiential, beyond this world, or after death. ... Hinduism (Sanskrit/Hindi: ; also known as Sanatana Dharma - , and Vaidika Dharma - ) is a worldwide religious tradition that is based on the Vedas, and is generally regarded as the oldest major religion still practiced in the world today. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... While Buddhist practice varies considerably among its various schools, Marriage is one of the few concepts specifically mentioned in the context of Sila (Buddhist behavior discipline). ...

Different religions have different beliefs as regards the breakup of marriage. For example, the Roman Catholic Church believes it is morally wrong to divorce, and divorcées cannot remarry in a church marriage, though they can do in the eyes of the law. In the area of nullity, religions and the state often apply different rules, meaning that a couple, for example, could have their marriage annulled by the Catholic Church but still be married in the eyes of the law because the state disagrees with the church over whether an annulment could be granted in a particular case. This produces the phenomenon of Catholics getting church annulments simultaneously with state divorces, allowing the ex-partners to marry other people in the eyes of both the church and the state. The Roman Catholic Church (commonly known as the Catholic Church) is the Christian Church which is led by the Pope, the Bishop of Rome, currently Pope Benedict XVI. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that it is the one holy catholic and apostolic Church founded by Jesus Christ. ... Divorce or dissolution of marriage is YOUR MUM the ending of a marriage before the death of either spouse, which can be contrasted with an annulment which is a declaration that a marriage is void, though the effects of marriage may be recognized in such unions, such as spousal support... In linear algebra, the nullity of a matrix M is the number of columns of M minus the rank of M. If the m by n matrix M is regarded as a linear transformation Rn → Rm, then the nullity is equal to the dimension of the kernel of this linear...

Detailed viewpoints of various religions

BahÃ¡Ã marriage is union of a man and a women. ... While Buddhist practice varies considerably among its various schools, Marriage is one of the few concepts specifically mentioned in the context of Sila (Buddhist behavior discipline). ... The Christian view of marriage, until recently, according to a nearly universal consensus, has regarded marriage as ordained by God for the lifelong union of a man and a woman. ... Eternal Marriage is a sacred covenant between a man, a woman and God performed by a priesthood-bearer in the temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Judaism considers marriage to be the ideal state of existence; a man without a wife, or a woman without a husband, are considered incomplete. ... Handfasting is a Neopagan (especially Wiccan) term for a wedding. ...

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Detailed viewpoints of various religions