What is civil marriage? Marriage is a pact that is made between two people in order to formalize their love relationship, and, in this way, enjoy a variety of benefits before society as part of their now legitimate bond.. The institution of marriage is the cell of society, since from this they evoke the families and homes that end up forming the towns.
Together with ecclesiastical marriage, we will find civil marriage, a resource two people use to legitimize their love union before the State, becoming recognized as a legal family and recognized by society. In different countries, a couple can proceed to this resource to give legitimacy to their marriage.
Civil marriage
A civil marriage is nothing more than a legal marriage that two people contract through the authorities that govern their jurisdiction, that is, civil registries and other local authorities. The couple reaches a civil agreement, which is endorsed by the government, entailing a series of rights and duties now in marriage.
The civil marriage takes place in the civil registry, where the couple, together with witnesses and municipal authorities, celebrate the formal union. There, they must read and sign the corresponding clauses with their now civil bond, establishing an agreement before all the people who are there.
Civil and religious marriage
Parallel to civil marriage, Some people perform a religious or ecclesiastical marriage, which, as its name indicates, is celebrated in the church to which the couple belongs., where a referee (leader, father, etc.), will be in charge of carrying out the celebration and authorizing the union between the lovers, valuing the principles of their church.
Religious marriage is a tradition in which many people celebrate their union before the church, presenting to their closest family and friends the moment in which they take an oath in the eyes of God.
Contrary to what many people may think, civil marriage and religious marriage are not mutually exclusive. In fact, a large number of marriages are celebrated jointly. People proceed with their civil union, and later, they go to church to celebrate their now legal union.
Everything will depend on the inclinations that people have, since some will give greater value to religious marriage than to civil marriage, while other cases will show totally opposite interests.
How is civil marriage?
Unlike religious marriage, civil marriage does not enjoy so many formalities on an aesthetic level. The couple can attend in semi-formal attire and at almost any time of the day. The agreement regarding the way of dressing will depend more on the couple than on the requirements of the civil registry.
The person who will carry out the civil marriage will be the civil registry official, who acts as the referee of the celebration, giving an account of each of the steps that will be carried out during the union of the couple.
On some occasions, toasts are held at the site of the civil marriage celebration. However, we can agree that no major activities are carried out in this scenario, since it is a public service in which, in addition, multiple civil marriages are celebrated every day.
The formalization of the marriage will take place as the signing of the act by those involved in the marriage, which will attest to the reading and subscription of the clauses that now constitute their marriage before the State. This, until one of the two dies or decides to end the union respectively.
This voluntary separation is what is known as divorce, a resource used for the physical and material separation of the spouses, which can be due to different circumstances such as adultery, confrontations, etc. This resource does not figure in ecclesiastical marriage, since it does not contemplate a retreat before the decisions that are made before God.
Religious marriage does not group, in this sense, duties, as it does in the case of civil marriage, in which we can resort to another example of their duties, such as the filiation of children and the division of matrimonial assets. .
The civil marriage today
Many couples resort to civil marriage as a mechanism to legitimize their union and enjoy the recognition of the State for their relationship. It is also well known that people of the same sex can also enjoy civil marriage, a case that does not happen in religious marriage.
This has allowed civil marriage to be valued to a greater extent over religious marriage on many occasions. However, in some countries, it is possible to observe the celebration of marriages based on the concepts of religious marriage, but practiced outside of a church, with a father who is hired to give his blessing and guidance to the couple.
Since the 18th century, civil marriage has served as a separatist mechanism between the institutions of the State and the church, since, as we could infer, the latter was the only one capable of legitimizing marriage unions. In this way, civil marriage is established as an increasingly leading alternative in the civil union of couples.
Today, we find that each country has a jurisdiction in which its inhabitants can legitimize their union before the law, consigning it as a legal and real marriage for the society in which they live.
Civil marriage: The union of couples before the State
Two people who want to get married can go to the civil registry to celebrate their union. In most cases, this mechanism is completely free, so any couple who has the will and desire to get married can do so at the local civil registry.
Once the couple is aware of all their duties and rights under the law as a married couple, they will be able to sign and attest to their commitment to their partner and the country as one of the new family cells that are born at that time.
Reference: What is civil marriage?
Read also: Marriage in California: age, annulment; Marriage in Florida: prision, non resident, age; Marriage in Texas: laws, benefits, age, annulment
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