Re: Marrying a cousin - 11.20pm BBC2 tonight
Some of the greatest minds in history were married to their first cousins. Einstein married his first cousin and had a healthy child with her. So did, Charles Darwin and produced an offspring who went on to become a great scientist in his own right. In modern america, cousin marriage is considered a taboo; the notion has its genesis dating back to the colonization of the americas, where european settles in an attempt to dehumanize the native americans and to distinguish themselves from them, singled out this practice and deemed it uncivilized, while similar practices in the old country were quite common.
Another ethnic/religious group, that indulges in this are the Jews.....