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Some marriages include more than two people with multiple spouse being married to multiple spouses i.e. Group marriage a unique type of polygamy that is very rare.

Marriage refers to a socially, religiously, or legally recognized relationship between two people. The social, religious, or legal purpose of the relationship can vary widely. Some people have more than one partner in marriage.


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Definitions throughout history
Marriage of some kind is found in most societies, and typically married people form a household, which is normally subsequently extended biologically, through children. In the West the nuclear family emerged after 1100 AD. Most non-Western societies have a broader definition of family that includes an extended family network. Childbearing is not necessarily a requisite, and some married couples remain childless by choice or due to infertility, age, or other factors preventing reproduction.

Precise definitions vary historically and between and within cultures: modern understanding emphasizes the legitimacy of sexual relations in marriage, yet the universal and unique attribute of marriage is the creation of affinal ties (in-laws). Traditionally, societies encourage one to marry "out" far enough to strengthen the ties, but "close" enough so that the in-laws are "one of us" or "our kind". Exception to this rule has been found in the marriages whose aim is to strengthen concentration of wealth and power rather than to create affinal ties. Even in this case, the individual was often encouraged to marry "within" close family limits. (Further discussion and reference: Marvin Harris, late Professor of Anthropology, Columbia University)

Marriage remains important as the socially sanctioned bond in a sexual relationship. Marriage is sometimes understood as a relationship designed to produce children and successfully socialize them. Children born outside of marriage have been legally known as bastards. Historically, many societies have allowed some form of polygamy. Europe, the United States and Canada have, for the most part, defined themselves as monogamous cultures. This partially stemmed from Germanic cultural traditions, Christianity, and mandate of the Roman Law. However it is important to note that Roman Law permitted prostitution, concubinage, and sexual access to slaves. The Christian West formally banned these practices with laws against adultery, fornication and other relationships outside a monogamous lifelong covenant.

Many present-day societies, even those with a cultural tradition of polygamy, recognize monogamy as the only valid form of marriage. For example, China shifted from allowing polygamy to supporting only monogamy in the Marriage Act of 1953 after the Communist revolution. Polygamy is practised illegally by some groups in the United States and Canada, primarily by Mormon fundamentalists sects that separated from the mainstream Latter Day Saints movement after the practice was renounced in 1890. While many peoples in African and Islamic societies do allow polygyny (around 2.0 billion people), perhaps less than 3% of all Muslim marriages are polygynous.

Since the later decades of the 20th century many ideas about the nature and purpose of marriage and family have been challenged in some countries, in particular by LGBT social movements, which argue that marriage should not be exclusively heterosexual. Some people also argue that marriage may be an unnecessary legal fiction. This follows from an overall shift in Western ideas and practices of family; since WWII, the West has seen a dramatic increase in divorce (6% to over 40% of first marriages), cohabitation without marriage, a growing unmarried population, children born outside of marriage (5% to over 33% of births), and an increase in adultery (8% to over 40%). A de facto system of serial monogamy has emerged. On the other hand, demands for same-sex marriage have led to its legalization in some Western countries.

Today, the term marriage is generally reserved for a union that is formally recognized by the state (although some people disagree). The phrase legally married can be used to emphasize this point. In the United States there are two methods of receiving state recognition of a marriage: common law marriage and obtaining a marriage license. The majority of US states do not recognize common law marriage. Many localities do support various types of domestic partnerships.

Marriage was a civil institution in nations until about the mid 5th century AD. Around that time Augustine and others theosophised about marriage and the Christian Church started taking an interest in co-opting it. Christians began to have their marriages conducted by ministers in Christian gatherings. It was in the 12th century that the Roman Catholic Church, as well as other orthodoxies, formally defined marriage as a sacrament. (In Roman Catholicism the Sacrament of Matrimony is between God, the man and the woman. The Protestant Reformation reformulated marriage as a life-long covenant; Protestant leaders like Martin Luther and Calvin denied that marriage was a sacrament.

The historian John Boswell's book Same-Sex Unions in Pre-Modern Europe lends complexity to the debate concerning whether marriage has been exclusively a heterosexual institution until recently. The book's cover has an icon (that predates the twentieth century) depicting a union between two male saints, with Jesus behind them in the middle providing the blessing. The existence of the berdache in some Native American cultures also complicates the issue; it was even a mark of distinction for a man to marry a berdache.

The term wedlock is a synonym for marriage, and is mainly used in the phrase "out of wedlock" to describe a child born of parents who were not married.