Hello curious21
Thanks for the interesting question on the acceptability of marriage
between relatives of different degrees of separation.
I think the short answer is that we are hovering around one and a half
here. The Western world seems a little divided on whether first
cousins (1 degree of separation according to your system) should
marry. The USA is less accepting of this than Europe. Although it is
legal in European countries, it may be against many of the
inhabitants' religious beliefs, e.g. in predominantly Catholic
countries.
For complete acceptability in all quarters, spouses need to be as far
apart as 2 degrees of separation in your system, i.e. no connection
closer than shared great-grandparents. However, first cousins
once-removed (between 1 and 2 if I understand your system correcly)
are more likely than first cousins to be considered acceptable
marriage partners. Only a handful of US states ban marriage between
first cousins once-removed, i.e. when one partner would be the child
of the other's first cousin.
LAW
In the US about half the states permit marriage between first cousins.
I've found slightly different lists on different websites but assume
this map from the University of Missouri Kansas City Law School should
be accurate.
The Right to Marry, from website of UMKC Law School
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/righttomarry.htm
Some US states ban marriage even between first cousins once-removed
but most other countries allow marriage between actual first cousins:
"Prohibitions on cousin marriage are unique to the United States. Most
other countries permit first-cousin marriages without restriction, and
the rate of cousin marriages in some countries is as high as 60
percent of all marriages. But that has always been the case, and being
unique has rarely motivated Americans to change their ways. "
Should the law be kinder to "Kissin' cousins"?
article by Joanna Grossman, associate professor of law at Hofstra Law
School
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/grossman/20020408.html
CHRISTIAN VIEWPOINTS
The Bible doesn't ban marriage between first cousins although the
Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches do. You'll find an interesting
survey of biblical guidelines on marriage here:
Cousin marriage: What do Judeo-Christian texts say?, by Richard
Ostling
http://www.suntimes.com/output/religion/cst-nws-cousins19.html
In the Roman Catholic Church, first cousins may be able to marry with
special dispensation, although the situation is complicated as this
discussion shows:
Cousins marrying in the Church
http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=006308
RISKS
It used to be thought that marriage between first cousins greatly
increased the risks of birth defects but recent research suggests the
extra risk is quite small.
"In 2002, scientists reported that first cousins can have children
together without a great risk of birth defects or genetic disease.
Being cousins increases the risk of having a child with a serious
problem from a background rate of about 4% to a rate of about 6%. "
UKMC law school
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/righttomarry.htm
This recent information comes from "the April issue of the Journal of
Genetic Counseling [which] said risks have been exaggerated for
serious birth defects, retardation or genetic diseases among children
of first-cousin marriages."
Cousin Marriage
http://www.suntimes.com/output/religion/cst-nws-cousins19.html
SOCIAL ACCEPTABILITY
This is an issue in the US more than in Europe. There seems to be an
organisation called Cuddle International campaigning in favor of first
cousin marriage but its website (www.cuddleinternational.org) isn't
working. However Google has stored one of its pages:
petition for cousin marriage
http://216.239.39.100/search?q=cache:s2cpD4djt1QC:www.cuddleinternational.org/petition/nvsign.html+cousins+marrying+OR+marriage+law&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
About.com has links to American sites debating cousin marriage:
http://marriage.about.com/cs/cousinmarriages/
If you want to go into this in more detail, this is the book for you:
Forbidden Relatives: The American Myth of Cousin Marriage, by Martin
Ottenheimer. University of Illinois (1996)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0252065409/ref%3Dcm%5Fcustrec%5Fgl%5Facc/103-0729751-1629411
Ottenheimer is cited on several 'cousin marriage' sites I found.
"A social anthropologist, Martin Ottenheimer....examines the
historical development of US laws governing marriage, contrasts them
with European laws, and analyzes the genetic implications of first
cousin marriage."
Note that Amazon lets you see the list of contents and several pages
on their site.
EXTRA LINKS
history of cousin marriage laws
http://www.pemberley.com/pemb/adaptations/pp2/messages/19562.html
chart and explanation of different kinds of cousin including the
"once-removed" kind
http://216.239.39.100/search?q=cache:GdSzDPlliDwC:www.zianet.com/jmcdgwin/Cousins%2520once%2520removed+%22first+cousins+once-removed%22&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
Google's stored version of cuddle international's summary of state
marriage laws:
http://216.239.39.100/search?q=cache:q4Yl0AvY7GgC:www.cuddleinternational.org/laws/law-index.html++site:www.cuddleinternational.org+%22first+cousins+once-removed%22+state+law&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
traces of another website that was a source of information on US
marriage law but seems to have faded away
http://216.239.39.100/search?q=cache:DSmvG0dc4wcC:www.cousincouples.com/info/states.shtml+%22first+cousins+once-removed%22+state+law&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
more on church dispensations
http://marriage.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.geocities.
com%2FVienna%2FStrasse%2F7286%2FForb_Rel.htm%23Study
I hope this is helpful. Please let me know if you need any
clarification, or have trouble with any of the links.
Regards - Leli
search terms:
cousins "first cousins" "first cousins once-removed" marriage marrying
law custom tradition acceptability bible church |
,
1 Comment
)