Marriage and Cohabitation

Question 1

Definition of marriage

Answer 1

Is a legal union of two people through a religious or civil ceremony.

Question 2

The marriage Act 2014

Answer 2

Both heterosexual and homosexual couples are able to get married. Marriage act makes provision for the marriage of same sex couples either in a civil ceremony or approved premises or on religious premises

Question 3

Different types of marriages:

Monogamy

Answer 3

Includes being married to
one person at a time. It is common in European
countries. It is based on the idea of equality between men and women.

Question 4

Different types of marriages:

Serial monogamy

Answer 4

Includes getting married,

divorcing and getting married again to someone else. Common in Western cultures. Possible due to secularisation.

Question 5

Different types of marriages:

Polygamy

Answer 5

Includes having two or more
husbands or wives. Common in Africa, Middle
East, Asia, some USA states. Possible due to cultural,
economic and religious reasons.

Question 6

Different types of marriages:

Polygyny

Answer 6

A man having two or more

wives. Mormons in the USA, Muslim states in the Middle East. Maximises the number of children, economic reasons (dowry).

Question 7

Different types of marriages:Polyandry

Answer 7

A woman having two or

more husbands. Common in Tibet. Restricts the number of children in areas with limited land.

Question 8

Different types of marriages:Bigamy

Answer 8

Includes being married to
more than one person at a
time (polygamy), but when
it is illegal in a country,
e.g. the UK.

Question 9

What is the civil partner ship act

Answer 9

Legal recognition of a
homosexual relationship. In the UK, Denmark. Possible due to secularisation,
changing social attitudes, legal changes. Since 2018, opposite sex couples can also get a civil partnership.

Question 10

Different types of marriages:Arranged marriage

Answer 10

Marriage arranged by
parents to match their
children with partners of similar status and
background. Asian countries, Asian communities in the UK. To maintain cultural traditions.

Question 11

Trends in marriage:

Fall in marriage rates?

Answer 11

In 1970, there were 400 000 marriages in England
and Wales, but by 2005 only 244 710 couples got
married – the lowest number ever. Half of these marriages are actually
re-marriages. Most marriages are through a civil ceremony, rather than religious.Also People are getting married at a later age. In 2005 Males got married at 31 years of age and females 29

Question 12

Trends in Civil partnerships

Answer 12

Civil partnerships have levelled out to around
7000 per year since 2005 when they were
first introduced. The numbers of men and women’s civil partnerships are almost identical. The average age of first civil partnership is quite high; on average, men enter a civil
partnership at the age of 40, women at the age of 38.

Question 13

Reasons why cohabitation is increasing

Answer 13

There are around 4 million cohabiting couples in Britain. 11% of all children in Britain are brought up by their unmarried, cohabiting parents. However, 60% of cohabitations turn into
marriage. So, cohabitation is a prelude to marriage, not necessarily an alternative. It is therefore often referred to as practice marriage. Most cohabiting couples are in their mid to late 20s.

Question 14

Reasons for the trends of Cohabitation

Answer 14

• Women’s economic independence
• Increase in divorce
• Increase in secularisation

-Changing social attitudes and decline in
stigma

• Higher expectations of marriage
• Contraception

Question 15

Reasons for the decrease in First marriages

Answer 15

-Weddings are very expensive so people choose not to get married.
-Fear of divorce – people don’t want to have to go through it so they don’t get married in the first place.
-Changes in social attitudes: in the past, an out-of-marriage pregnancy would lead to a shotgun wedding’. Today, there is no more stigma to having children
outside marriage, so even a
pregnant woman may choose not to marry
-The influence of Feminism: Sharpe interviewed
secondary school girls in 1976 and again in 1994 – in 1976 girls’ dreams included marriage, love and children; in 1994 it was education and
career. So, marriage had lost its importance in the eyes of women.
-Changes in the position of women – with better education and career prospects, women are no longer dependent on men. This gives them the freedom not to marry.

Question 16

Explanations for the increase in Re- marriages

Answer 16

-Increase in secularisation – people don’t feel the need to marry in a place of worship so divorced people
can remarry and use any venue.
-Changing social attitudes: serial Monogamy is acceptable.
-Protestant Church allows re-marriage ‘blessings’ so even divorced people can remarry in a church.
-Mass media promotes the
idea of romantic love –
people continue to look for
‘the right person’ if the first
marriage doesn’t work out.

Question 17

Explanations as to why people choose to marry at a later age

Answer 17

-Changes in social attitudes: there is no more stigma attached to being unmarried, especially for women – terms such as
‘spinster’ and ‘old maid’ are no longer used to describe unmarried women.
-Weddings are expensive so
people have to save up for a number of years before they get married, by which time,They are older.
-Influence of Feminism:
Wilkinson - increased
opportunities for women in
education and work leads to
women postponing marriage
until after their career is
established.
-Increase in secularisation –
no pressure to get married
young, people wait until
they find the ‘right person’.
-Changes in social attitudes:
no more stigma to being
unmarried so people don’t
rush into it early in adult life.

Question 18

Explaining the reasons for the increase in cohabitation

Answer 18

-Bejin - It is conscious attempt to create a more equal relationship.
-Weeks - changing social
attitudes – sex outside marriage and cohabitation are now acceptable.
-It is a conscious attempt to create a more equal relationship, Shelton and John – cohabiting women do less housework than married women.
-Changing social attitudes –
sex outside marriage and
cohabitation are now acceptable.
-Attitudes to marriage are changing – there is now less pressure on individuals to marry and the quality of the relationship is more important than its legal status.
-Chester - It’s a part of getting married – a prelude, not an alternative to marriage – ‘practice marriage’.
-Increase in secularisation –
cohabitation is no longer seen as ‘living in sin’.

Question 19

Explanations for the increase in singlehood

Answer 19

-Increase in divorce leaves
people living alone.
-As people are marrying at a
later age, they may live alone in the period between university and marriage or cohabitation.
-Stein - Increasing numbers of people are choosing to live alone even if they are in a long term relationship. This is called ‘creative singlehood’.
-Increased life expectancy –
women, on average, live longer than men so are more likely to be left widowed and living alone.
-Duncan & Phillips – living
apart together – increasingly people live alone, but are in
relationships.