Wedding - Religious Aspects of Weddings

Religious Aspects of Weddings

This section may need to be rewritten entirely to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards, as the intro to this section is about marriage, and needs to be rewritten to discuss weddings ceremonies and traditions instead, as does the section on Christian customs. A large amount of info in the section on Jewish customs is commented out and needs to be incorporated. Sections on other religious customs such as Islamic and Shinto weddings would also be helpful. You can help. The discussion page may contain suggestions.

Most religions recognize a lifelong union with established ceremonies and rituals. Some religions permit polygamous marriages or same-sex marriages.

Many Christian faiths emphasize the raising of children as a priority in a marriage. 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 marital vows are not to be taken lightly.

Different religions have different beliefs as regards the breakup of marriage. For example, the Roman Catholic Church believes that marriage is a sacrament and a valid marriage between two baptized persons cannot be broken by any other means than death. This means that civil divorcés cannot remarry in a Catholic marriage while their spouse is alive. In the area of nullity, religions and the state often apply different rules. A couple, for example, may begin the process to have their marriage annulled by the Catholic Church only after they are no longer married in the eyes of the civil authority.

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