"Till death do us part" is no obstacle to a posthumous marriage
This week’s entry: Posthumous marriage
What it’s about: Those times when it’s too late for “till death do us part.” All over the world, people have legally married someone who was already deceased. In most instances, one half of the couple dies shortly before the wedding, and the surviving partner continues on, although the reasons for that vary, as we discovered.
Biggest controversy: Mormons still practice polygamy, just so long as everyone involved is dead. The LDS Church performs garden variety marriages, but for couples for whom “till death do us part” doesn’t go far enough, there’s the eternal marriage, or sealing. This super-marriage means the couple’s souls are bound together even in the afterlife. The practice is done posthumously, but only when the couple was married in life. (Two living people stand in for the deceased during the ceremony.) However, a man who was widowed and remarried can be sealed to both wives once everyone involved is dead. (The church only recently extended the offer to women who were married more than once.) “Sealing” is actually far less controversial than the Mormon practice of posthumously baptizing people—even non-Mormons—without their knowledge or consent.
Strangest fact: In China, posthumous marriage is called “ghost marriage,” and while rare, it’s sometimes performed so a dead man’s widow can carry his family line on by adopting a child. However, the widow would be expected to take a vow of celibacy, remaining faithful to the memory of her deceased partner. (Further details on ghost marriage aren’t clear; this section is confusingly worded.) Sudan has a similar tradition in which, if a man dies shortly before his wedding, his brother will take his place in the marriage, and any progeny are considered children of the deceased.