Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

The question “Who marries whom?” refers to patterns of partner choice. The tendency to marry (or enter a long-term relationship such as cohabitation) a person who belongs to the same social group or who is similar with regard to certain characteristics is also known as homogamy. Since Weber argued that connubium (i.e., marriage) is one of the indicators of status group closure, homogamy has become a key object of study in order to highlight properties of the social structure. Sociologists have traditionally been interested in three individual characteristics that can be important in the choice of a partner: race/ethnicity, religion, and socioeconomic resources. Studying patterns of partner choice is important because it allows us to evaluate the degree of openness of the boundaries of different ethnic, religious, and socioeconomic groups. The more frequent marriage between subjects who differ with respect to the characteristics of the group, the more open the group is said to be. Substantively, the likelihood of ethnic intermarriages has been interpreted as an indicator of the level of integration and social cohesion between different ethnic groups. Religious intermarriages reflect the strength of different religions in conditioning individual life choices. Finally, socioeconomic homogamy is related to the openness of the system of social stratification and affects the overall level ... log in or subscribe to read full text