How is the degree between two persons counted in canon law when assessing kinship?

How is the degree between two persons counted in canon law when assessing kinship?

• A. Number of generations between them
• B. Age difference
• C. Years since common ancestor
• D. Frequency of contact with kin

Answer: (A)

In canon law, kinship degree is determined by the number of generations that separate two people along their genealogical connection. To figure it out, you identify the nearest common ancestor and then count how many generations each person is removed from that ancestor, finally adding those two numbers together. That total is the degree of kinship. For example, a parent and a child have the common ancestor as the parent: the parent is zero generations away from themselves, the child is one generation away, so the sum is one—the first degree. Siblings share the same parent, who is one generation away from each sibling, giving a total of two generations, or the second degree. First cousins share a grandparent as the common ancestor; each cousin is two generations away from that grandparent, so the total is four, the fourth degree. The other options—age difference, years since the common ancestor, or how often the individuals meet—do not determine kinship degree; they describe social factors, not the actual genealogical distance.

In canon law, kinship degree is determined by the number of generations that separate two people along their genealogical connection. To figure it out, you identify the nearest common ancestor and then count how many generations each person is removed from that ancestor, finally adding those two numbers together. That total is the degree of kinship.

For example, a parent and a child have the common ancestor as the parent: the parent is zero generations away from themselves, the child is one generation away, so the sum is one—the first degree. Siblings share the same parent, who is one generation away from each sibling, giving a total of two generations, or the second degree. First cousins share a grandparent as the common ancestor; each cousin is two generations away from that grandparent, so the total is four, the fourth degree.

The other options—age difference, years since the common ancestor, or how often the individuals meet—do not determine kinship degree; they describe social factors, not the actual genealogical distance.