All individuals pass through distinct stages of life. These stages are often marked by rites of passage signifying the transition from one life stage to another by rituals associating with a change of status. A person is not just born into society, but has to be re-created through rites of passage as a social individual, and accepted into society. The general structure of rituals was categorized into a framework and proposed by the Belgian anthropologist Arnold van Gennep. He outlined three types of rites of passage as separation, segregation, and reincorporation which transform a social identity; "Separation is the detaching of an individual from his or her former status, segregation is having been detached from the old status but not yet attached to the new, and reincorporation is when the passage from one status to another is consummated symbolically" (Marshall, 570). During the transition from rites of passage there are establish rituals that take place. They create social solidarity, which is necessary to hold a society together. Rituals used in rites of passage are understood in the terms of the participants in their own meanings. In almost any society, the most common rite of passage is marriage. The sociological concepts of status, role behaviour, and marriage as an institution all contribute to the transition of single hood to marriage by rituals that associate with this rite of passage.
             Marriage is a complex concept in modern Western society. It has drastically changed the essence of what marriage used to be in the past decades. Traditionally, marriage has been conceived to be a legally recognized relationship, between an adult male and female, that carries certain rights and obligations. However, in contemporary societies, marriage is sometimes interpreted more liberally by including homosexual couples. There has been a growing concern that the traditional concept of marriage is declining. The first concern is ...