JS8 Marriage and Family: Home

Explore religious beliefs around the world through an interactive map produced by WGBH. The interactive opens to show a map that displays the religions that are the most prevalent in each country around the world. You may then click on one of eight religious groupings listed in the menu to examine its relative popularity in each country. The map features brief descriptions of each religious grouping and bar graphs that reflect the percentage of a country’s population associated with each grouping.

For over five thousand years henna has been a symbol of good luck, health and sensuality in the Arab world. The plant has been associated with positive magic and provides us with a link to an ancient age full of good and bad spirits, baraka and jnoun. Generations of women have used a paste made primarily of dried ground henna leaves to cover their hands and feet with designs ranging from simple blobs to intricate geometric patterns designed to ward off evil, promote fertility and attract good energy.

"They are not said to be husband and wife, who merely sit together. Rather they alone are called husband and wife, who have one soul in two bodies." (Guru Amar Das, Pauri, pg. 788)

A Shinto wedding is a small-scale affair involving the couple, their family and their close friends.

This article looks at Muslim weddings and includes information on the ceremony, the law, arranged marriages and polygyny.

Marriage is a Sacrament, a Mystery of the Orthodox Church, through which the union of man and woman is sanctified by God.
The Orthodox marriage ceremony, the most ancient of Christian wedding rites, is steeped in ritual and symbolism, reflecting the theology of the Church.