"In the big sweep of human history and broad cross-cultural comparison, monogamous, heterosexual marriage, voluntarily entered into, is a pretty rare form of marriage."
This from Roger N. Lancaster, a professor of anthropology at George Mason University, and also the designated spokesman of the American Anthropological Association. He also says, "A wide swath of cultures have allowed or encouraged or celebrated same-sex unions."
They said, in a prepared statement, that:
"The results of more than a century of anthropological research on households, kinship relationships and families, across cultures and through time, provide no support whatsoever for the view that either civilization or viable social orders depend upon marriage as an exclusively heterosexual institution."
Some examples of cultures that allowed homosexual marriage include: some Native American tribes, Boston Marriages in the U.S. in the 1800s (although many of those were non-sexual), the Nuer people of the Sudan, and the samurai.
Furthermore, we've already gone away from Biblical ideas on marriage by not allowing polygamy (Genesis 29), allowing the man to have sex with his wife's maidservant (Genesis 16), and not punishing adulterers with death (Exodus 20). Christ was against divorce and remarriage (Mark 10). "Today, many politicians refer to marriage as a sacrament, as if that were an ancient way of thinking about marriage. It is not," says Bernadette Broden, professor of Christian studies at Brandeis University.
Religious leaders are divided: some, those who prefer a strict interpretation of the Bible, tend to be against it, while others are not. A statement supporting same-sex marriages in Oregon was signed by ministers of many churches: United Church of Christ, United Methodist Church, Presbyterian Church (USA), Episcopal Church in the United States, Unitarian Universalist Association, Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism, Metropolitan Community Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Quakers (woo! -- me), the Koinonia Catholic Community, peace churches and the Community of Welcoming Congregations.
The idea of marriage licenses didn't come up in England until 1753. Prior to this, marriages were private, and therefore caused some tricky legal issues, especially regarding inheritance. The Marriage Act of 1753 required that all marriages be made public record, but did not require a religious ceremony.
The Pilgrims got the idea of civil marriages from the Dutch (they were in the Netherlands for awhile before coming to America), and they thought the idea of a religious marriage was unscriptual. The first marriage in New England was performed in May of 1621 by the Governor, and it wasn't until 1692, when they became part of the Massachusetts Bay colony that clergymen were allowed to solemnize marriages.
Many ideas about marriage have changed; the idea of a marriage being about love is a very recent development. Women's roles in marriages have changed drastically, from being all but the husband's property to being an equal partner. There're many examples of earlier cultures accepting homosexual marriage and secular marriage. It's time we reminded people what are roots are, and erect signs saying "progress this way." I think people have gotten confused and perhaps don't realize they're going backwards.
