 | The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject.(November 2019) |
A self-uniting marriage is one in which the couple are married without the presence of a third-party officiant. Although non-denominational, this method of getting married is sometimes referred to as a "Quaker marriage", after the marriage practice of the Religious Society of Friends, for which see Quaker wedding.
California allows "non-clergy marriage" by "members of a particular religious society or denomination not having clergy for the purpose of solemnizing marriage or entering the marriage relation" if specified forms, including the signatures of two witnesses, are properly completed and filed. [1] An atheist couple in San Francisco was reportedly allowed to have a non-clergy marriage under this provision of California law by entering "atheist" in the box for "religious society or denomination" on the non-clergy marriage form. [2]
Colorado allows self-solemnization without requiring a special form of application or witnesses. [3] [4] Colorado is one of two states that allow self-solemnization without any caveats or restrictions. [5] With self solemnizations, these requirements are cut out, and when a couple gets married in Colorado, they can have their own ceremony and sign their own marriage license. [6]
The District of Columbia allows couples to officiate their own wedding. [7] [8]
Illinois law states, "if no individual acting alone solemnized the marriage, both parties to the marriage, shall complete the marriage certificate form and forward it to the county clerk within 10 days after such marriage is solemnized." [9] Nonetheless, such weddings must be "in accordance with the prescriptions of any religious denomination, Indian Nation or Tribe or Native Group." [9]
Kansas law provides, "The two parties themselves, by mutual declarations that they take each other as husband and wife, in accordance with the customs, rules and regulations of any religious society, denomination or sect to which either of the parties belong, may be married without an authorized officiating person." [10] And further provides that, "All marriages solemnized among the society called Friends, or Quakers, in the form previously practiced and in use in their meetings shall be good and valid and shall not be construed as affected by any of the foregoing provisions of this act." [11]
Maine exempts "Quakers or Friends" and "members of the Baháʼí faith" from the requirement for a third-party officiant. [12]
Nevada law provides, "All marriages solemnized among the people called 'Friends' or 'Quakers,' in the forms heretofore practiced and in use in their meetings, shall be good and valid." [13]
Pennsylvania has recognized such marriages for centuries (due to its Quaker origins and history of religious tolerance) and has offered licenses for these marriages for decades. [14] These marriages only require the signatures of two witnesses in place of an officiant.
The issuance of self-uniting marriage licenses has been controversial, however.[ citation needed ] Before 2007, some Pennsylvania counties did not offer this form of license at all. [15] Others only allowed such marriages when license applicants could prove they were members of a recognized religion without clergy, such as Quakers, the Amish, and the Baháʼí Faith; [16] however, in 2007, a Federal judge ruled that a Pennsylvania couple that was denied a self-uniting marriage on the basis of their secular beliefs must be allowed such a license. [17]
Wisconsin allows self-uniting marriages in accordance with the customs, rules and regulations of any religious society, denomination or sect to which either of the parties may belong. [18] The county clerk may ask the applicants to state their religious affiliation and provide evidence of that affiliation. Secular humanism is an acceptable religious affiliation for obtaining a self-uniting marriage license.
A civil marriage is a marriage performed, recorded, and recognized by a government official. Such a marriage may be performed by a religious body and recognized by the state, or it may be entirely secular.
A marriage license is a document issued, either by a religious organization or state authority, authorizing a couple to marry. The procedure for obtaining a license varies between jurisdictions, and has changed over time. Marriage licenses began to be issued in the Middle Ages, to permit a marriage that would otherwise be illegal.
Same-sex marriage has been unambiguously legal in Ontario since June 10, 2003. The first legal same-sex marriages performed in Ontario were of Kevin Bourassa to Joe Varnell, and Elaine Vautour to Anne Vautour, by Reverend Brent Hawkes on January 14, 2001. The legality of the marriages was questioned and they were not registered until after June 10, 2003, when the Court of Appeal for Ontario in Halpern v Canada (AG) upheld a lower court ruling which declared that defining marriage in heterosexual-only terms violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Nova Scotia since September 24, 2004 when the province began issuing marriage licences to same-sex couples immediately following a court ruling from the Nova Scotia Supreme Court. Nova Scotia was the sixth jurisdiction in Canada and the ninth in the world, after the Netherlands, Belgium, Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec, Massachusetts, Yukon and Manitoba, to legalise same-sex marriage.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Nunavut since 20 July 2005, when royal assent was granted to the federal Civil Marriage Act making same-sex marriage in Canada legally recognised in all provinces and territories. On this date, Nunavut began granting marriage licences to same-sex couples. Previously, in October 2003, Premier Paul Okalik had announced that same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions would be legally recognized in Nunavut.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Alberta since July 20, 2005 upon the granting of royal assent to the federal Civil Marriage Act. Alberta was one of the four Canadian provinces and territories where same-sex marriage had not been legalised before the enactment of the Civil Marriage Act, along with Prince Edward Island, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
The blessing or wedding of same-sex marriages and same-sex unions is an issue about which leaders of Christian churches are in ongoing disagreement. Traditionally, Christianity teaches that sexual practices between men and sexual practices between women are sinful and that holy matrimony can only exist between two persons of different sexes. These disagreements are primarily centred on the interpretation of various scripture passages related to homosexuality, sacred tradition, and in some churches on varying understandings of homosexuality in terms of psychology, genetics and other scientific data. While numerous church bodies have widely varying practices and teachings, individual Christians of every major tradition are involved in practical (orthopraxy) discussions about how to respond to the issue.
Quaker weddings are the traditional ceremony of marriage within the Religious Society of Friends. Quaker weddings are conducted in a similar fashion to regular Quaker meetings for worship, primarily in silence and without an officiant or a rigid program of events, and therefore differ greatly from traditional Western weddings. In some respects a Quaker marriage resembles a common-law marriage.
An officiant or celebrant is someone who officiates at a religious or secular service or ceremony, such as marriage, burial, namegiving or baptism.
This article summarizes the same-sex marriage laws of states in the United States. Via the case Obergefell v. Hodges on June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States legalized same-sex marriage in a decision that applies nationwide, with the exception of American Samoa and sovereign tribal nations.
A marriage officiant or marriage celebrant is a person who officiates at a wedding ceremony.
A humanist celebrant or humanist officiant is a person who performs humanist celebrancy services, such as non-religious weddings, funerals, child namings, coming of age ceremonies and other rituals. Some humanist celebrants are accredited by humanist organisations, such as Humanists UK, Humanist Society Scotland (HSS), The Humanist Society (US), and the Humanist Association of Canada (HAC).
Methodist viewpoints concerning homosexuality are diverse because there is no one denomination which represents all Methodists. The World Methodist Council, which represents most Methodist denominations, has no official statements regarding sexuality. Various Methodist denominations themselves take different stances on the issue of homosexuality, with many denominations holding homosexual practice to be sinful, while other denominations ordain LGBT clergy and marry same-sex couples. The positions of the various Methodist denominations around the globe are outlined in this article.
In the United States, common-law marriage, also known as sui juris marriage, informal marriage, marriage by habit and repute, or marriage in fact is a form of irregular marriage that survives only in seven U.S. states and the District of Columbia along with some provisions of military law; plus two other states that recognize domestic common law marriage after the fact for limited purposes.
Marriage in New Zealand is governed by an Act of Parliament. The minimum marriage age is 18 years, or 16 years with consent of the Family Court. Polygamous marriages are not permitted in New Zealand. There are prohibitions of marriages between some relatives and some who are already in a civil union.
An ordination mill is a religious organization or denomination in which membership is obtainable by trivial means and all members are qualified for self-ordination as a minister of religion, bishop, priest or deacon without any prerequisite training, work, experience, seminary study or other qualification. In some cases, ordination may be obtained online or by mail merely by submitting an application and a nominal fee.
American Marriage Ministries is a non-denominational Internet church based in Seattle. The church was founded by Glen Yoshioka in 2009 and ordains and trains people to officiate at weddings. The church is a secular non-denominational organization that does not promote any specific religious ideologies, instead allowing its ministers to define their own practice and faith. This allows ceremonies to be tailored to the beliefs of the couple. The church ordained Canadian singer Carly Rae Jepsen in 2017. The church had operated entirely online until June 2019, when its ministers began performing in-person ordinations in response to Tennessee passing a law disallowing ministers ordained online from solemnizing weddings in the state. According to Executive Director Lewis King, by June 2017 the church has ordained more than 715,000 people in the United States, including over 13,400 active ministers in Tennessee. The church performed mass ordinations in a number of cities in Tennessee, with the majority of attendees being those who had already been ordained online but need to update their status to comply with the new law.
The legal status of the Universal Life Church encompasses a collection of court decisions and state executive branch pronouncements determining what rights the Universal Life Church (ULC) and comparable organizations have as religious organizations.
The Universal Life Church (ULC) is an American non-denominational religious organization founded in 1962 by Kirby J. Hensley, under the doctrine: "Do that which is right". The Universal Life Church advocates for religious freedom, offering legal ordination to become a minister free of charge, to anyone who wishes to join. The ULC has ordained ministers from a wide range of backgrounds and beliefs, including atheists, Christians, Jews, Neopagans and Wiccans.
Tennessee House Bill 878 is a proposed state law in the U.S. state of Tennessee, granting an individual the right to refuse to solemnize a marriage if the individual has a religious or conscience-based objection to that partnership. The law was passed in 2024 and signed into law by Governor Bill Lee.
A marriage may be solemnized... by the parties to the marriage....
Pursuant to the "Marriage Officiant Amendment Act of 2013", the following persons or organizations are authorized or are candidates for authorization to perform marriages in the District of Columbia:... (9) the parties to the marriage (both parties to the marriage must apply in person with a valid government issued identification).
However, officials [in Butler county] said they don't issue that type of license at all
| Legal scenarios | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Religious | |||||||||
| Age | |||||||||
| Arranged | |||||||||
| Ceremonial | |||||||||
| Circumstantial basis |
| ||||||||
| De facto | |||||||||
| Endogamy | |||||||||
| Exogamy | |||||||||
| Non-monogamous | |||||||||
| Sexless | |||||||||
| Other | |||||||||
