Catholicism prohibited a broad range of unions among people, but offered some leeway in the enforcement of its rules. The Roman Catholic Church held marriage to be a sacrament (a sign of God's presence), while Protestants simply considered it blessed by God.Ĭatholics believed the marriage bond lasted until death, while Protestants accepted the possibility of divorce and remarriage in limited circumstances. However, the various Christian denominations were divided on several issues. Long before the founding of Canada, the Catholic and Protestant churches had established that marriage was a lifelong, exclusive union of one man and one woman who freely consented to join their lives for procreation and mutual comfort. Until recently a man found it more difficult to marry until he could support a wife and children. Third, economic factors have always affected marriage opportunities, especially for men. The selection of potential spouses for women has always been greatest when women were young for men, on the other hand, the choice of mates expanded steadily as they aged. Second, the strong tendency of men to marry women younger than themselves has affected the marriage opportunities of prospective brides and grooms in quite different ways. Also, from 1850 onward women have outnumbered men in the growing industrial cities of central Canada. However, during times of high immigration, and in frontier areas, men outnumbered women. Overall the numbers of unmarried men and women have been more or less equal. In Canada this ratio has varied widely over time. Then, as today, three basic factors influenced the opportunity to marry and the timing of marriage:įirst is the ratio of marriageable males to females. The average age of grooms at first marriage was between 25 and 29 the average age of brides was between 20 and 25. Before the Second World War, nine out of 10 adults in Canada had married at least once in their lives. Since the end of the Second World War, however, the formal rules, family customs and societal expectations around marriage and divorce have steadily been eroded and relaxed.Ĭanadians have always followed the marriage pattern dominant in Western societies – relatively late marriage, companionable unions and a significant proportion of individuals who remain unmarried. Traditional Christian concepts of marriage dominated Canadian society since the founding of the country. James Anglican Cathedral in Toronto, home of the oldest congregation in the city.
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