The history of this sacred union has deep roots. So deep that they go to the very first layers of human history. The order of marriage is described in the Bible. Since Old Testament times, betrothal has been a voluntary union of a man and a woman who have made a mutual and informed decision to live together and in harmony with God's standards. By the word “norms” we mean the foundations of family law set forth in the Holy Scriptures.
Surprisingly, with all the complexity of the described device in the legislation of many countries, there is no clear definition of marriage. This is due precisely to the fact that marriage is not a business agreement where all the rights and obligations of partners are subject to legal regulation with varying degrees of accuracy. Marriage is a union, and such a definition implies certain freedoms in relations between partners. Which is logical, since the family is created not only and not so much to fulfill some obligations to society or in order to raise children, but in order to take care of spiritual and corporal unity (“there will be two one flesh”) about the spiritual and physical needs of the partner, complement and protect each other. And these spiritual subtleties cannot be ordered by any law properly.
Considering the order of marriage as a legal phenomenon, we can distinguish several types of such unions: those that were registered with special bodies, church and actual (those that are mistakenly called civil). Uncommon in Russia, but taking place in the world, are such varieties of matrimony as polygyny (polygamy), polyandry (on the contrary, when there are many husbands), a temporary or fictitious treaty, and, finally, recently causing fierce battles among lawmakers and among philistines same-sex unions.
The conduct itself and the rules under which engagement is considered legal are regulated differently in different countries. Marriage in Russia, as well as the legal consequences of this action, occurs when the registration takes place in state bodies (the same procedure in France, Japan, Germany). In other countries, the choice of form - civil or church registration - remains with the spouses, the state recognizes both one and the other union (Spain, England, Canada, Italy). Thirdly, marriages are concluded only in religious form (Israel, some states of the USA and Canada, Islamic countries).
Interestingly, the word “marriage” comes from the Greek word γάμος, which is derived from “take”. Akin to him, the old Russian “brachychi” is defined as an action aimed at choosing the best of the good and rejecting the inappropriate, evil. Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that the words “marriage”, as a union of two people, and its homonym denoting low-quality goods, are not so far in their lexical meaning. It is not surprising that in many countries there are certain restrictions and the procedure for marriage for young couples. So, for example, the Family Code states that the conclusion of a marriage in Russia is impossible if someone who wants to start a family is already connected by official family ties with another person. It is also impossible to communicate between close relatives or if the bride or groom suffers from any mental disorder. Marriage between adoptive parents and adopted children is prohibited by law. Meanwhile, marriage in Germany in such a situation is quite possible. Only in this case, those combining cease to be relatives, i.e. parent and child. The existing procedure for marriage in the civil legislation of this country terminates in this case the adoption obligations.
As you can see, over the millennia of its history, mankind has not developed a unified approach to the formation of the marriage system. Perhaps that is why normal family ties today are defenseless against the onslaught of public opinion and freedoms incompatible with high morality.