Hosts:
- International Commission of Historical Demography
- Centre for Population Studies
at ”Babeş-Bolyai” University Cluj
- Center for Transylvanian
Studies at Romanian
Academy Cluj
- Romanian Society of Historical
Demography
- CEPHn – Central Europe
Population History network
Intermarriages (or mixed
marriages) have taken place since the beginning of time. As people explored and
traveled, both men and women would fall in love with natives and either stay or
take the partners back home with them. The term mixed marriage also describe
the marriage of a couple who has different cultural, ethnic, religious or
national heritages or backgrounds.
The research of mixed
marriages was inspired by the idea that diversity of customs and cultures has
been, for centuries, one of the world’s assets. The ethnic and religious tolerance
and peaceful cohabitation have been, at least for the last decades, the
guarantee for an open society and consideration for cultural diversity. On the
other hand, there are many examples in Europe
where the application of this generous principle was confronted with serious
difficulties, such as the integration of migrants coming from areas culturally
opposed to those of the host-country. It is also (as) true that in areas such
as former Yugoslavia or Northern Ireland
the high ratio of mixed marriages did not prevent civil wars.
Different cultures endure
vastly diverse moral, ethical and value foundations that influence their
perceptions of individual, family and societal lifestyle. Mixed marriages do
not connect only two individuals, but also the groups to which they belong.
Mixed marriages act as a connecting element within a society and their
existence has the potential to reduce the probability of violent conflicts among
different ethnic groups and to increase the social cohesion of the society.
When among the members of different groups there are many marital relations,
there are also other social contacts among them: children from different groups
have the opportunity to meet each other in school, in the neighbourhood, in
leisure activities.
Mixed marriages form a link
between these groups and often connect the social networks of the two spouses,
and new contacts and interpersonal relationships could appear, passing the
group boundaries.
It would be interesting and
useful, in this context, to find an answer to the question whether intermarriage
lowers the salience of cultural distinctions for new generations, and to find
out if the descendents of such marriages identify themselves with only one
group, or with both of them.
Another challenging
question researchers are invited to answer is whether through mixed marriage
people might lose their negative attitudes they have toward other groups.
Although personal interactions can sometimes lead to conflicts, accentuating
the economic and cultural differences, when the relationship is intimate, the
interaction might give people the possibility to understand individual variety
among members of a group, and, by doing this, they might reduce their
prejudices and stereotypes.
