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WHOSOEVER ARE RELATED ARE FORBIDDEN IN SCRIPTURE AND OUR LAWS TO MARRY TOGETHER
her 1 Grandfather
er's Wife 2 Grandmother's Husband
ndmother 3 Husband's Grandfather
ster 4 Father's Brother
ister 5 Mother's Brother
rother's Wife 6 Father's Sister's Husband
rother's Wife 7 Mother's Sister's Husband
her's Sister 8 Husband's Father's Brother
her's Sister 9 Husband's Mother's Brother
10 Father
her 11 Step-Father
other 12 Husband's Father
13 Son
aughter 14 Husband's Son
e 15 Daughter's Husband
16 Brother
ster 17 Husband's Brother
Wife 18 Sister's Husband
ughter 19 Son's Son
's Daughter 20 Daughter's Son
n's Wife 21 Son's Daughter's Husband
's Son's Wife 22 Daughter's Daughter's Husband
n's Daughter 23 Husband's Son's Son
aughter's Daughter 24 Husband's Daughter's Son
Daughter 25 Brother's Son
Daughter 26 Sister's Son
Son's Wife 27 Brother's Daughter's Husband
on's Wife 28 Sister's Daughter's Husband
other's Daughter 29 Husband's Brother's Son
ster's Daughter 30 Husband's Sister's Son
osoever are related are forbidden in scripture and our laws to marry together
her 1 Grandfather
dmother 2 Step-Grandfather
her-in-Law 3 Grandfather-in-Law
4-5 Uncle
Law 6-9 Uncle-in-Law
10 Father
her 11 Step-Father
n-Law 12 Father-in-Law
13 Son
ghter HIJASTRA 14 Step-Son
-in-Law 15 Son-in-Law
16 Brother
-in-Law 17-18 Brother-in-Law
daughter 19-20 Grandson
daughter-in-Law 21-22 Grandson-in-Law
Granddaughter 23-24 Step-Grandson
25-26 Nephew
-in-Law 27-30 Nephew-in-Law
The full set of in-laws and step relatives are included to match the
equivalent blood relatives of the same name except the following:
Step-Sister Step-Brother
Step-Aunt Step-Uncle
Step-Niece Step-Nephew
The 1907 Marriage Act removed no. 17 from the forbidden list (Wife's
sister and Husband's brother), provided the first spouse in each case was
deceased. Further changes followed in 1921, 1931 and 1949:
The 1921 Marriage Act removed no. 18 (Brother's wife and Sister's
husband) provided brother or sister in each case was deceased.
The 1949 Marriage Act confirmed the previous 3 acts and specifically
included 'half blood' relatives.
[18]
F KINDRED AND AFFINITY
HOSOEVER ARE RELATED ARE FORBIDDEN BY THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND TO MARRY TOGETHER
1 Father
2 Son
ther 3 Father's Father
Mother 4 Mother's Father
ghter 5 Son's Son
s daughter 6 Daughter's son
7 Brother
aughter 8 Father's Son
aughter 9 Mother's Son
other 10 Husband's father
aughter 11 Husband's Son
Wife 12 Mother's Husband
e 13 Daughter's Husband
Father's Wife 14 Father's Mother's Husband
Father's Wife 15 Mother's Mother's Husband
ther's Mother 16 Husband's Father's Father
other's Mother 17 Husband's Mother's father
n's Daughter 18 Husband's Son's Son
aughter's Daughter 19 Husband's Daughter's Son
n's Wife 20 Son's Daughter's Husband
's Son's Wife 20 Daughter's Daughter's Husband
Sister 22 Father's Brother
Sister 23 Mother's Brother
Daughter 24 Brother's Son
Daughter 25 Sister's Son
1 Father
2 Son
other 3-4 Grandfather
ughter 5-6 Grandson
7 Brother
er 8-9 Half Brother
n-Law 10 Father-in-Law
ghter 11 Step-Son
her 12 Step-Father
-in-Law 13 Son-in-Law
Grandmother 14-15 Step-Grandfather
mother-in-Law 16-17 Grandfather-in Law
Granddaughter 18-19 Step-Grandson
daughter-in-Law 20-21 Grandson-in-Law
and Half Aunt 22-23 Uncle and Half Uncle
and Half Niece 24-25 Nephew and Half Nephew
To emphasise that the ten 'in-law' relatives, removed from the above
list, could only marry the nominated person if all previous spouses were
dead, a second list was included:
Table 26 In-laws Whom the Nominated Person Can Marry With the
Above Restrictions (1949 Act)
Since 1949 there have been several further Marriage Acts culminating in the
1986 Act which brought the regulations up to date.
Blood Relatives
The following blood relatives are still forbidden to marry under all
circumstances:
A man may not marry his: A woman may not marry her:
Mother Father
Daughter Son
Grandmother Grandfather
Granddaughter Grandson
Sister Brother
Half Sister Half Brother
Aunt Uncle
Half Aunt Half Uncle
A man may not marry his: A woman may not marry her:
Niece Nephew
Half Niece Half Nephew
The following in-laws can also marry without any restrictions, ie regardless
of whether or not their first spouses are still alive:
The remaining step-relatives can now marry provided they are over
21. Also, the younger person must not have been treated as a child of the
older person's family and never, under the age of 18, lived under the same
roof as the older person.
The remaining in-laws can now also marry provided they are both over 21
and any former spouses must be deceased.
A new forbidden category has now been added covering adopted children:
The marriage laws for Scotland and Northern Ireland are similar to England
and Wales except that Scotland also includes the following forbidden blood
relationships:
mother Great-grandfather
daughter Great-grandson
My criticism is that there are still no sensible rules about marriage between
'blood' relatives. The only logical way would be to fix an obligate level of
inbreeding beyond which it is not permissible to go. For example, if the
maximum coefficient of relationship between partners is fixed at 1/8, this
would limit the coefficient of inbreeding to 1/16 (6.25%). Marriages between
single first cousins would then still be allowed but not between double first
cousins. It would also allow unions between half uncle and half niece and
between half aunt and half nephew. If this was introduced the list of
forbidden marriages between'blood' relatives would then become:
Relationship R
Parent-child 1/2
Full Sib 1/2
Half Sib 1/4
Double First Cousins (first degree) 1/2
Double First Cousins 1/4
Grandparent-grandchild 1/4
Uncle-niece and Aunt-nephew 1/4
Also any other unusual cousin or other relationships with an R value of 1/4
or above (see enhanced relationships .)
Incest
Comments
Apart from religious constraints, the idea that incest laws should only
encompass members of the close family stems from the desire to protect
vulnerable children. From the biological point of view, however, all close
inbreeding is harmful and undesirable, even when it involves relatives
outside the nuclear family.
The above list excludes several relationships which are as close or even
closer, in terms of the coefficient of relationship , than those within it. The
following are some examples:
• Grandmother-grandson. This is a sexist exclusion, since although
Grandfather-granddaughter incest is more likely to happen, when
Grandmother-grandson incest does occur it is just as serious.
• Uncle-niece and Aunt-nephew sexual unions are excluded even
though their coefficients of relationship are the same as between Half
sibs and Grandfather-granddaughter (R = 1/4).
• Double first cousins of both types (first degree and normal), with R
values equal to Full and Half sibs respectively, are also
excluded.Likewise any of the other unusual cousin relationships
described earlier, with coefficients of relationship of 1/4 or above. In
view of the severity of the punishment for statutory incest I think
these close cousin relationships should at least be included among
the list of forbidden marriages.
[17] Taken from the 1908 edition of The Book of Common Prayer (Church of England)
TRADUCCION