SOCIOLOGY OF THE MARRIAGE RITUAL

At present only between 250 000 and 300 000 marriage ceremonies are held in France each year. As marriages increasingly occur after a period of cohabitation this has led to modification in the ritual: engagement has lost its importance, and the spouses' families are less concerned in the organization of the festivities. However, the sharp decline in religious practice is not matched by a decline in religious marriage ceremonies, which continue to reflect the permanence of links to a local community or an extended family, especially in rural areas. Three major types of marriages are found today. In the <<traditional>> wedding, there is no previous cohabitation; betrothal and religious ceremonies remain, and marriages tend to be uxorilocal and the festivities are organized by the spouses' parents. In the <<deritualized>> wedding, the ceremony is simplified, and concerns mainly the spouses who are already living together. In the <<classic>> wedding, intermediate between the other two, the spouses have lived together before marriage, but voluntarily adhere to the socially recognized aspects of marriage: the religious ceremony remains, and the festive aspect of the wedding ceremony is stressed.