婚姻法法律规范和要求、身体和其他法律规范开始,延续,婚姻的有效性。在西欧的大多数婚姻法律来源于罗马天主教教会法。尽管教会认为婚姻是神圣的,不能溶解的结合,现代西方欧洲和美国婚姻法将它视为民事事务。婚姻法只允许一夫一妻制的工会;合作伙伴必须在禁止超过一定的年龄,而不是血缘关系度;他们必须结婚自由和同意的婚姻。现在几乎普遍允许离婚。虽然伊斯兰法律视婚姻为两个配偶之间的契约”合法化性交和儿童的生殖”,它也被认为是来自上帝的礼物或一种服务上帝;伊斯兰的一夫多妻制总是有限的,已经减弱。允许一夫多妻制婚姻习俗下法律在许多非洲国家,尽管已经被越来越多的一夫一妻制的趋势。 Marriage law in present-day China and Japan resembles that in the West. Although most jurisdictions restrict marriage to a union between a man and a woman, same-sex marriages have been legalized in the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada, South Africa, Norway, and Sweden, as well as several U.S. states. Civil unions or domestic partnerships between persons of the same sex, which entail many of the rights and obligations assumed by married couples, are recognized in numerous other jurisdictions, including several European countries and some U.S. states. Other U.S. jurisdictions, while not recognizing civil unions or domestic partnerships, grant a range of legal rights to same-sex couples.