Catholic marriage and dowry

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Did the catholic church ever permit ‘dowries’ to be a condition of marriage?

I know these practices don’t really exist today in the US and most of the western world, but I’m curious about the past, when this custom was much more popular and prevalent.

Before I was married I had to attest to my preist I was entering into the marriage without any pressure or coercion. I’m curious if this custom of dowries was not practiced by Catholics historically or if it was done ‘quietly’ without the approval of the church?
 
Dowries are a cultural thing, not a Catholic thing.

Afaik, Catholic marriage has never required any sort of a “dowry” as a condition for a church marriage.

The Church did allow/ encourage convents to require a “dowry” from young women wishing to enter.
 
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ZemD said:
Did the catholic church ever permit ‘dowries’ to be a condition of marriage?

I know these practices don’t really exist today in the US and most of the western world, but I’m curious about the past, when this custom was much more popular and prevalent.

Before I was married I had to attest to my preist I was entering into the marriage without any pressure or coercion. I’m curious if this custom of dowries was not practiced by Catholics historically or if it was done ‘quietly’ without the approval of the church?
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I think it was common in parts of India. Among both the Latin rites and the Syro-Malabar rites. This was a cultural thing from the Indian/Hindu culture.

It’s not so common nowadays, but it still happens in certain parts and certain familes. Especally more so among the upper-middle class and super rich families.
 
I know that some have criticized the Church for not speaking out more and doing more against the dowry system in India as in some cases the dowry system has formed a basis for women to be abused and even killed there.

It seems like the Church has pretty much just stayed out of the issue of dowries (everywhere, not just in India) and allowed the culture and/or the civil authority to deal with that.
 
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A friend of mine, who’s Indian, mentioned about one of his relative from India who recently got married and is a Syro-Malabar rite. Both the bride and groom were from upper middle-class or higher up families. So I’m sure money wasn’t an issue for them. But the bride’s family was pressurized to give dowry as part of the culture and status. The bride apparently gave 10 million Indian rupees (which is about $150k USD). They married in the church.
 
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It’s important to note that dowries didn’t/don’t work the same way under all legal systems that they did/do in India. For example, in England during some eras, a woman’s dowry had legal implications regarding her claims to her parents’ estate, and the form of the dowry affected whether her husband would get ownership of it or whether she would keep ownership of it after the marriage with her husband just getting the income from it. Dowries and marriage settlements got really legally complicated and affected (among other things) whether the woman would be able to support herself if her husband went broke, wasted all the family’s money, died without leaving her funds, or ran off and left her. All this stuff is way beyond the purview of the Church.

There were also eras and cultures where the man was expected to pay a bride-price to the woman’s family in order to marry. The Church didn’t get involved with that either.
 
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Tis_Bearself said:
For example, in England during some eras, a woman’s dowry had legal implications regarding her claims to her parents’ estate, and the form of the dowry affected whether her husband would get ownership of it or whether she would keep ownership of it after the marriage with her husband just getting the income from it. Dowries and marriage settlements got really legally complicated and affected (among other things) whether the woman would be able to support herself if her husband went broke, wasted all the family’s money, died without leaving her funds, or ran off and left her. All this stuff is way beyond the purview of the Church.
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it’s kind of the same situation in India I believe. Dowry in essence is the bride’s parents giving her the share of the family’s assets (in money or other value). So in the patriarchal Indian society, all the family property and shares get passed down to the sons. So for example- imagine there were 2 sons and 1 daughter. The main property and assets would go to both the sons and the parents would be taken care of by one of the sons. The daughter’s share (mostly in money) will be given to her and her husband as a dowry at marriage.

If it were 2 girls, then everything will be divided up between the daughters. And one of the daughter and her husband would have to take care of the parents.
 
Does anyone know if it is still part of the orthodox Jewish custom that when an engagement ‘contract’ is made, a dowry is agreed upon at that time?
 
I used to tease my father in law that he still owed me three sheep and his best cow . . . he’d laugh . . .

🤣 :crazy_face: 😱
 
Could anyone please tell me about Catholic Church`s view point on dowry system?
 
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We just had a thread on this:
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Catholic marriage and dowry Liturgy and Sacraments
Did the catholic church ever permit ‘dowries’ to be a condition of marriage? I know these practices don’t really exist today in the US and most of the western world, but I’m curious about the past, when this custom was much more popular and prevalent. Before I was married I had to attest to my preist I was entering into the marriage without any pressure or coercion. I’m curious if this custom of dowries was not practiced by Catholics historically or if it was done ‘quietly’ without the approva…
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Basically, the Catholic Church doesn’t get involved in dowries for marriage. That practice is cultural, not religious.

The Catholic Church allowed convents to require dowries from young women who wanted to join.
 
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