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A few facts from history...
Earliest recorded marriages go back to circa 17 BCE . The father deliverd the bride to her husband (she had no say in the matter). In 527 the Justinian lawyers drew up laws which regulated marriage but it was a civil contract between the father and the husband for the property that was the wife
Until the 9th century (1100 years ago) marriages had no church involvement. For the next 700 years the Church recognized marriage but it was not a sacrament. In 1563 the Council of Trent transformed the ceremony into a sacrement of the church (though divorce was and remains prohibited by the Papacy).
For most of human history, the bride was owned by the husband. In Western culture, marriage could involve 9 year old girls, divorce was impossible, by law a husband could not be held to have raped his wife.
That is "western culture" - In New Guinea it has been belived for over 3,000 years that for an adolescent male to become a man, he must fellate an adult male.
5,000 years of "marriage" does not exist; and historically marriage has included polygamy, poylandry, child abuse, rape, ownership, enslavement, as well as (more recently) civil and religous ceremonies. In this country, until 1967 it was illegal in many state for couples of different "races" to intermarry and that prohibition enjoyed support by 90% of Americans until it was overturned by the US Supreme Court. |