First cousins → 4th degree demonstrates which of the following?

First cousins → 4th degree demonstrates which of the following?

• A. The degree count is based on generations between relatives
• B. The degree count is based on age difference
• C. The degree count is determined socially
• D. The degree count is irrelevant

Answer: (A)

In canon law, the degree of relationship is determined by how many generations separate two people. You measure this by tracing from each person up to their common ancestor and adding those generations. For first cousins, each person is two generations removed from their shared grandparent (one generation to the parent, another to the grandparent). So together that makes four generations between the two cousins, which is described as the fourth degree. This method is about generations, not age differences or social judgments, and it’s a real, applied way canon law classifies kinship for acts like impediments.

In canon law, the degree of relationship is determined by how many generations separate two people. You measure this by tracing from each person up to their common ancestor and adding those generations. For first cousins, each person is two generations removed from their shared grandparent (one generation to the parent, another to the grandparent). So together that makes four generations between the two cousins, which is described as the fourth degree. This method is about generations, not age differences or social judgments, and it’s a real, applied way canon law classifies kinship for acts like impediments.