Western vs. Hebrew Kinship Practice

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Briefly describe your own culture’s marriage practices, residence, kinship terms, descent, etc., using appropriate anthropological terminology: Western culture society marriage, residence and kinship practices (in general, or ideal), can be best described as follows: Family organization: Predominately best described as a nuclear family, father, mother and the children, appears to predominate. Studies indicate that in the last 20 years or so there have been some interesting changes in family organization that has caused an increase in nuclear family and a decrease in extended family. Additionally there has been a significant increase in the number of divorced families, unmarried families, homosexual families and unmarried families in general. Marriage: The prevailing practice and legal system supports monogamy, that is practice of having only one spouse at one time. As mentioned previously, of the different types of marriage types, monogamy currently the only legal form of marriage in the United States. At one point in the history of the United States, polygamy was an accepted and legal form of marriage in Utah. This sanction was approved in accordance with the practice of the Mormon faith/religion. While monogamy in western culture acknowledges only one spouse at a time,(both legally and ethically), divorce law enables an individual to divorce and re-marry without limit. Another interesting focus is on recent laws that make homosexual partnership and marriage legal in some states. Prior to recent years homosexual marriage was not considered legal and as an issue within the evolving culture of the United States, continues to be a highly charged political topic. One final note about Western culture is that most marriages follow the rules of Exogamy. Generally a person is free to marry whomever they wish with the exception of persons within a nuclear
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