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Giggly_Giraffe
Guest
Which religions/ cultures do NOT use wedding rings as an outward sign of marriage?
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Medical_Student
Guest
Many Asian cultures. For example, though today many Indians in America wear wedding rings (because of Western influence), many in India do not (though British colonization has had some influence).
I know many married Chinese who do not wear rings in the U.S.
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MJJean
Guest
I don’t know any specific religions that do not use rings as a sign of a married person.
Culturally, here in the US at the least, a lot of married people don’t wear their rings after the ceremony.
Military personnel usually take their rings off for training to avoid injury. People who work in machine shops and around heavy equipment are also commonly advised not to wear their rings to prevent injury.
A lot of men simply do not like wearing any jewelry. My former FIL, married for over 40 years, only wears his wedding ring when dressing up for special occasions.
And a lot of people skip the ring for health reasons, too. People with arthritis or who frequently have swollen fingers, for example.
I don’t think wearing the ring to outwardly display marital status is that important. What is important is that the married person behave like a married person.
Culturally, here in the US at the least, a lot of married people don’t wear their rings after the ceremony.
Military personnel usually take their rings off for training to avoid injury. People who work in machine shops and around heavy equipment are also commonly advised not to wear their rings to prevent injury.
A lot of men simply do not like wearing any jewelry. My former FIL, married for over 40 years, only wears his wedding ring when dressing up for special occasions.
And a lot of people skip the ring for health reasons, too. People with arthritis or who frequently have swollen fingers, for example.
I don’t think wearing the ring to outwardly display marital status is that important. What is important is that the married person behave like a married person.
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Bonnie
Guest
In my Army training years ago we were shown pictures of what the combination of rings and equipment can do. Gruesome.
I have a wedding ring but I no longer wear it - I gained too much weight. Even tho I’m finally losing weight, I may not go back to wearing it. I don’t wear any jewelry now except for my tau & a ring would feel funny.
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andrewstx
Guest
It is a fact that during the English Reformation that the Puritans hated wedding rings and fought against their use. They said it “smacked of popery”.
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4Squarebaby
Guest
Islam forbids men from wearing gold rings. The wearing of rings is a cultural tradition from Europe that is massively pushed by the jeweler industry worldwide which first saw its gains in men starting to wear rings along with women.
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1Tim215Mommy
Guest
In the US & India Hindu women wear beautiful ornate thick gold necklaces while married, often hidden under clothing, and when their husband dies they have to take it off immediately. They also wear the mark on their foreheads to signify they are married as well. - this info I was given by a practicing Hindu neighbor
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Claire_Lily
Guest
I once worked with a woman who was a member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses Church and she was married but did not wear a wedding ring.
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4Squarebaby
Guest
But it is not forbidden, some wear it for the cultural reasons, after all women are walking up to your door and initiating a conversation. Others reject it because of their perceived pagan origins. If they do wear them it will not be announced during a wedding service as other faiths do when the couple chooses to give a ring to one half or exchange rings
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openmind77
Guest
Minor correction: Unmarried women also wear the red mark on their forehead, only widowed women take it off. So a red dot does not mean they are married.
Married women do wear a special necklace around their necks - usually gold with black beads (it is not necessarily hidden)
However, these days most married Hindus - men as well as women, wear a ring on their left hand ring finger just like people in the west.
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1Tim215Mommy
Guest
Red? It’s various colors, sizes & shapes. Sometimes a cream type substance, some times an ash type substance & sometimes a sticker. I have seen baby girls, young ladies & unmarried women wear it who are already promised in a traditional arranged marriage & also sometimes the young cultural dancers representing as if actresses married women of the past in the dance.
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openmind77
Guest
It is really supposed to be red traditionally, but yes they use all kinds of colors and shapes. That is all just current fashion.
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Indifferently
Guest
Men wearing wedding rings is politically correct innovation.
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4Squarebaby
Guest
since it started about a century before the term political correctness was accepted I prefer to believe it was in response to the jewelry industry. If they were able to I bet the Deeers had it their way men would wear diamonds also.
The Atlantic magazine had an article that diamonds came into greater usage as virginity insurance. Hence leaving men out when the society started to see diamonds given to potential spouses.
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MJJean
Guest
I read somewhere years ago that engagement rings were supposed to compensate the family of the bride for lost virginity if the engagement was ended for some reason. Always thought that was interesting.
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ahs
Guest
WHAT?!?! So you mean everyone wearing a wedding ring right now is practicing an unBiblical tradidtion of MEN?!
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Filii_Dei
Guest
That’s an interesting bit of knowledge. I don’t know any married Chinese who doesn’t have a wedding ring, and more than 70% here are Chinese. Some may not wear it every day for various practical reasons, but every one I know at least had one for their wedding.
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johndaniel
Guest
It’s more of a religious mark than a mark of marriage. Men wear a mark on their forehead as well. The only reason some widows choose to discontinue wearing it is because it was, for a long time, considered inauspicious to be a widow, and they therefore had to be prohibited from wearing tilak/bindi/tikka due to its auspicious connotation. They were also not allowed to wear jewelry, any clothing that was not white, in some cases, a blouse under their sari, and they had to keep their hair cropped short.
Anyways, getting off topic, lots of orthodox married Hindu women wear bangles, toe rings, and a necklace, I think called a mangalam, as a sign of marriage, rather than/in addition to a wedding ring.
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Rawb
Guest
Technically in Eastern Orthodoxy the ring is a sign of betrothal, not marriage. Marriage is symbolized by a crown. But as we do not wear our crowns every day, and as betrothal is very similar to marriage as far as responsibility and off-limitediness goes, the rings serve as wedding rings pretty much.
Though I’ve lost mine somewhere in this apartment…
Also, from what I’ve read men have worn these bands in Orthodoxy since the service was written, and our services are very, very old. It would make little sense to betroth the woman to the man, and then leave the man unbetrothed, and the ring is a necessary component of the betrothal. You can read the service if you don’t know what I mean.
Though I’ve lost mine somewhere in this apartment…
Also, from what I’ve read men have worn these bands in Orthodoxy since the service was written, and our services are very, very old. It would make little sense to betroth the woman to the man, and then leave the man unbetrothed, and the ring is a necessary component of the betrothal. You can read the service if you don’t know what I mean.
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forever47
Guest
The Amish do not wear wedding rings. Jewelry is seen as drawing attention to the body and thus encouraging pride. However, in many communities men begin growing beards upon marriage, and women’s dress may change as well too. An Amish woman may wear a different color prayer covering on her head.
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